Les Miserables
by mad-dog13
Summary: 10 days, 6 miserable ones, 1 detention room. When a fight between long time enemies breaks out in the middle of the high school parking lot, a group of students who want nothing to do with each other are forced to find out that they have more in common than they originally thought. BBRae, RobStar, CyJinx Teen Titans AU
1. Prolouge

Just so you all know,

Rachel=Raven

Victor=Cyborg

Garfield=Beast Boy

Kori=Starfire

Richard=Robin

This story is not rated M for descriptive lemons or anything, just some mature themes.

_**Disclaimer: The only thing I claim to own is Jinx's real name, which I made up. Only reason I claim ownership to this name is that she's named after a good friend of mine who passed away. I don't own Jinx herself, but please ask me if you wish to use the name Iris Breman.**_

**1. Rachel **

As Rachel opened her eyes she knew it wouldn't be a good day. The notion of having one was foreign but she couldn't help but think that this day would be worse than usual. She lay in her bed staring out the window. The clouds outside her window were dark and threatening and there was fog not too far from where she currently resided, making it so she couldn't quite she the end of her street.

It was Friday, the teenage girl wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. It did mean that she didn't have to go to school for the next few days, it would save her the torture of having to sit through six and a half hours of hell with a group of students who wanted nothing to do with her. Not that she wanted anything to do with them, but Friday meant a weekend at home. Rachel wasn't sure whether she was relieved at the prospect or not.

When she finally decided that she'd better get up and got out of her bed, she shivered. Her pajama's, which consisted of a light sweatshirt which was long enough to cover her underpants, didn't provide much warmth. She wrapped her arms around her body in an attempt to keep warm. It was the middle of November and one of the coldest Novembers she'd had in a while.

Rachel walked down the dark hallway of her upper floor. Her mother's room was still dark as it had been for the past few days. It was as empty as just another guest room, not that the Roth household entertained guests very often, unless her father met with a 'business partner'. She silently gave thanks that he hadn't been much of a problem last night.

Rachel heard her dad in the next room just heading to bed, probably another late night doing what he saw fit. She honestly didn't care what he did so long as he wasn't bothering her. At the end of the hall was the bathroom, opened the door and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She frowned, she didn't exactly meet her expectations, and probably no one else's either. Her naturally violet hair was tangled from sleep and even though its length had reached past her shoulder blades half of it had escaped the grasp of her hair tie. The dark circles under her eyes seemed considerably puffier than the last night.

She groaned. As if she didn't look creepy enough.

Rachel pulled her sweatshirt over her head and stepped into the shower, the heat of the water warmed her bones as her breath began to steam. She faced the shower head and smoothed back her hair. Rachel relished the few minutes she had to herself, for the rest of her day she would be around people. People who didn't accept her, people she didn't accept. People didn't like different, and Rachel didn't like people.

She stepped out after rinsing off and threw on some dark jeans and a dark blue top, sleeves a little too long, hem coming slightly past her knuckles. Rachel didn't bother drying her hair; it was so thin just walking to school would dry it for her.

Rachel went downstairs hearing her father's light snores when she passed his room. She hadn't bothered with breakfast and just left went out the door, right after grabbing a warm black hoodie.

_Colder than I expected, _Rachel thought, as she buried her face deeper into the hood. She wandered the street, the lamp posts were still lit and all the windows in the houses were still dark. She couldn't see much through the fog but she had lived here all her life, making her memorize the directions automatically over time.

Her wanderings lead her to the more quiet empty streets of town. Rachel rubbed her head in frustration; she was beginning to feel the stress of the past week in full force. It hadn't been fun, it hadn't been enjoyable, yet she hadn't felt upset or angry during the events, Rachel hadn't felt anything at all. Her constant meditation and her continuous runs had taken her mind off of her own life and into a blank world. It hadn't been easy, but the emotions she could have had to deal with would have been far more troublesome than the effort it took to supress them.

Even though she had went through all the meditation she hadn't been able to for the past few days and the walls were beginning to crumble, she was starting to feel.

Rachel slowly picked up her pace, faster and faster until she was running. It was her only way of forgetting and clearing her mind. She'd been doing this for years, running miles a day. She had become extremely fit and lithe through her daily routine.

Rachel ran until she'd lost track of time, she had almost built up her fortress again when she heard a noise. Footsteps, not hers. They sounded like they were running as well and they seemed to be getting louder and closer to her. She tensed slightly, Rachel never knew what to expect when she was alone and heard voices or footsteps, considering the countless times when 'friends' of her dad prowled around and seen her.

She considered just leaving, but she saw a large silhouette through the fog running up to her. As it got even nearer she saw that this person was not a threat. He was male, quite fit and muscled for a high school student and had skin the color of warm, milk chocolate.

He noticed her as he was running and lifted his hand into a wave, "Hey Rachel!" he called out, she nodded slightly in greeting.

It was Victor Stone. Athlete of the year three times in a row, he only needed to finish his senior year and he'd have earned it all his high school years. Rachel had been in his kindergarten class and he was one of the few people she could have a civil and intelligent conversation with, if you could even call it conversing. Victor respected Rachel's space and she respected his.

Despite this they hadn't really talked this year, the school year started a few months ago and Rachel hadn't said anything to him. Not like they talked to each other that much, but it had been at least 8 months since she'd uttered a word to him.

Victor slowed as he came up to her, "What are you doing out so early? He spoke with a bright smile, his kindness radiating out of his person.

Rachel shrugged in reply, "Just thinking." She mumbled.

"Just thinking? It looks like you've been doing some hardcore cardio!" He laughed, "Training to become an Olympic sprinter eh?"

"No." She said deadpan.

Victor looked a little uncomfortable at her simple answer, probably at a loss for words, unsure how to continue the conversation. "Um… so how's everything going with you? We haven't talked since junior year."

"Seeing as we just became seniors recently that's not that long." Rachel pointed out.

"Yeah, but a lot has happened since last spring," He countered, "What's been up with you, besides torturing any male who so much as looks at you, and picking fights with Jinx and her gang."

"Well other than that…" She said dryly with a roll of her eyes, "I suspect you're still burning the midnight oil with that Gamestation. Or have you gotten the new model?"

"Just got it last week!" He said proudly, puffing his chest and looking very happy with himself. He then realized that Rachel was mocking him in her own sarcastic way. "Hey…" He said narrowing his eyes playfully, "Did Rachel Roth just make a joke?"

"I don't joke." She said curtly, "I have to go."

Rachel turned around and went the other way, "Oh and by the way," She said turning her back to him, "Jinx started it."

"And the guys?"

"They can keep their hands to themselves." She left it at that and went on her way.

**2. Victor**

Vic hadn't spoken to Rachel in months; it was weird running into her. It was like nothing had changed, yet nothing had stayed the same. She was still the same closed off, reclusive girl he'd met in kindergarten, but something was off in her behavior, he couldn't put his finger on it, but something was up. Something must have happened in the 8 months since they'd last spoken.

Vic had changed in the last 8 months, that much he knew for certain. He wasn't left unscarred by life, but he didn't want to wallow in his misery like his father had, he needed to grow up and move ahead. He was almost guaranteed a scholarship to any school of his choice, and he personally couldn't get out of this town soon enough. He'd had enough of the containment, and the looks of pity often shot his way.

He had a little bit of time before he needed to be at school, so Vic somehow ended up lying in the middle of the football field, not doing much just staring at the grey sky and thinking. The frost was soaking into the back of his shirt and making him shiver. There had been a lot to think about over the past few months and it was hard to keep up with. As if he didn't have enough to deal with, now he had Rachel to worry about.

What was up with her anyways? He'd known her for almost 14 years, not on an extremely personal level, but enough to know that Rachel had secrets, and her secrets had secrets.

He could still remember their first meeting, it was the second day of kindergarten and Vic had been fooling around like the idiot he was and he fell off the playground. He screamed and cried to the point where he was just seeking attention. Then little Rachel approached him, looked at him with cold calculating eyes and said to him straight up, "Quiet, no one likes a faker. You're giving me a headache."

He stopped instantly, and stared at her in silent awe, she reluctantly offered him her hand. At first he didn't notice and kept staring. "Well? Aren't you going to take it?" She demanded, her annoyance clear. He took her offer of help, and ever since then he respected Rachel, and refused to believe the rumors that surrounded her. Vic became one of the only people in the world who understood Rachel to a basic extent. Most people just knew a name and a face.

Vic heard a noise from his current space; he tilted his head forward slightly, still lying down to see where it came from. He saw a smallish boy, (everyone seemed small when you're over six feet tall) running across the field in a frantic mess, dropping stuff, rushing to pick papers up, and overall making a complete fool of himself. Vic chuckled a little at the sight. He didn't recognize the boy; he didn't remember him from previous years. He seemed pretty young, probably a sophomore by the looks of it.

He quirked his head in slight amusement as he heard him say words that a little boy like him shouldn't. Vic almost got up to help him but he was both too comfortable here, and having a little too much fun watching this kid.

Eventually the boy drifted off, and Vic got lost in thought, watching the dark clouds move violently. He knew he should get to class, he had a few things to sort out with the office secretary, but just sitting there relaxed himself and he just didn't want to move.

He inwardly laughed at his thoughts; it was so unlike him to think so deeply, but after everything that had happened to him, he didn't really blame himself. Still he missed going either one hundred miles per hour, or none at all. This calm speed he was at now was a little disconcerting. He liked his life before, where he loved his life and didn't give a shit about anything.

He again was interrupted by someone. This time it was not a bumbling boy who had no idea where he was going, it was a girl, who seemed to know exactly where she was headed, like a predator sniffing out prey.

"Hey, Stone!" the pink haired girl called out, Victor cringed at her angry tone, he recognized Jinx.

Jinx was the school's little bad girl, she pretty much did what she pleased with whomever she pleased. Her and her gang of loyal followers were known for their feud, if you could even call it that, with Rachel. He had heard a lot of rumors of why Jinx hated her so much ranging from Rachel killing Jinx's cousin to Jinx having sex with Rachel's dad. All of the rumors were about as real and valid as tofu, and tofu ain't real. No one knew Rachel's dad and if there was any truth to a murder he was pretty sure Rachel would be in prison.

She stood there, in her short ripped skirt and her black and pink striped hand gloves, tapping her foot, impatient for an answer.

"Me?" he asked lazily,

"Yes you, you smart ass," She replied with a voice filled with annoyance, "Where's that purple haired bitch?"

_Rachel? _"How the hell should I know?" he wasn't exactly lying, he had no idea where she was, but he was making it seem like he didn't give two craps about her, when he'd been worried about her for a while. Vic didn't like lying, but he'd rather Jinx and Rachel not go head-to-head again.

"Aren't you Victor Stone, the only one to ever have a civil conversation with Rachel Roth, the world's only living heart donor." She asked, putting her hands on her hips in an intimidating fashion.

"That ain't true and ya know it," he replied, his voice nonchalant, "I haven't talked to her in months, anyways, ya should check your info, I hardly know the chick."

"Y'know I hate liars." She smirked, leaning over his body; he looked up at her smiled cheekily

"Me too,"

"Asshole," she muttered her smirk falling, "Think you're so smart, you and your 'holier than thou', 'devil may care' mindset."

"Then why'd ya approach me?" he asked, slightly exasperated that this girl had the nerve to refer to his sorta friend as 'a purple haired bitch', call him an liar and an ass, and expect him to be cool with it.

"I'd rather be around liars than people like you, so just… don't come near me." Jinx growled through gritted teeth.

"Ya didn't answer my question…" he laughed starting to stand up.

"You really think I'd find you worth wasting my breath on?"

"Nope."

"Good bye." Jinx stated all of a sudden, with no interest in her voice, she left to cross the football field.

"See ya later!" He called out after her in the brightest voice he could muster.

If Jinx heard him, she didn't show it, she had just kept on walking. Opposite to the school, Victor sighed and headed towards the entrance closest to the office.

He really hoped he wouldn't be encountering Jinx anytime soon.

**3. Garfield**

Garfield was late… again.

Of course he'd stay up till 3 am playing Mega Monkey's 4, the extended addition, with extra game packs and attack powers. Of course it would make him late for his first day of school. Of course.

It really was just his luck.

"I'M HERE!" he gasped as he burst through the office doors, still panting from the race he'd just had to beat the clock and get to school in time.

Gar was greeted by about 6 blank stares. He laughed awkwardly,

"Hehehe…" he trailed off as he noticed that the stares hadn't changed, "Um… hi, I'm new?" He spoke almost like a question; he wasn't sure what these people were expecting him to say so that just came out of his mouth.

One of the secretaries walked up to him, looked at a list with her all seeing eyes, "Garfield Mark Logan." She stated, pushing her glasses up her long pointy nose, "Welcome to Jump City High."

"Yeah!" He said, flashing her a toothy grin, "Dude, it's nice to meet you!"

The woman gave him an unimpressed, rather forced smile, "Like wise. Now there are a few things I need you to sign, and you can give your guardian this form, bring it in tomorrow morning with their signature."

Gar nodded, mood visibly dropping, but then perked up quickly, "Sounds good! I'll get it done."

"Here's your schedule, if you have any questions, talk to a guidance counsellor."

"No problem," he looked at what he had first, and a confused look spread onto his face**,**

_Huh? What are all these codes? What do all these numbers mean? Where am I supposed to go?_

He began to grab at his hair in a frantic fashion. Gar turned the paper upside down to see if maybe he was holding it wrong, after he'd turned around to each side about 6 times the secretary spoke up, "They're course codes." She said it as if it might mean something to him.

"Eh?"

"I'll get a student to show you to your first class." She sighed

Gar exhaled, he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath. The confusing numbers and magic codes wouldn't stop him from getting to class, if the school staff was plotting against him it wouldn't work. Then a thought entered his head, what if they were, he went through his mind to find anyone he may have accidentally pissed off since coming to this town.

Right then the office door opened, in walked a huge guy. He felt like this guy was twice as tall as he was.

"Dude, what the hell?!" He cried, he got a 'shhhh' from about 5 of the people roaming about the office.

_He's huge!_

The guy walked passed him, not before setting his eyes on Gar and snickering. Gar scratched his head, why was he laughing? Did he have something in his teeth or something? He closed his mouth and ran his tongue across his teeth self-consciously.

"Hey y'all," the guy spoke, "I'm here for the vice-principle."

They lead him into a room and the secretary motioned for him to stay there. Gar tilted his head to the side in wonder, and then he realized, they were plotting against him! Why else would they tell him to stay? Trying to make him late for class! He wouldn't take it, not from a bunch of old people!

"You'll never make me talk!" He shouted out throwing his fist up in the air, "I know you dudes' real intentions; you thought you could fool me! Well, guess what? I AM TOO SMART FOR THAT!"

* * *

That's how Garfield Logan ended up in the principal's office during his first 6 minutes of school.

"I can't have trouble makers in this school," the principal lectured as Gar shrunk into his seat even further, "Disrupting the work dynamic is unacceptable. Do you understand?"

Gar shuddered slightly at the man's voice, it was creepy, he sounded like the kinda guy who would touch children for fun, "Yes Mr. Wilson."

"Then you are free to go."

Gar exited the office only to be greeted by the tall guy who had laughed at him.

"Hey kid." He said towering over him, "What's up?"

"Umm, nothing I guess." He said unsure, feeling very useless and little.

"Mr. Stone," Mr. Wilson said from his desk, "You have the same class as Mr. Logan first period, would you be so kind as to show him the way?"

"WHAAA?!" the guy cried, Gar frowned, was he too short to be seen with or something? "This kid's a senior?!" He gestured his finger at Garfield in disbelief.

_Oh, he just can't believe that I'm in his class 'cause of my height, _he thought, feeling a little offended. One usually was when people commented on his size, he was only about 5'6 and this guy was like a kajillion heads taller than him.

"Yeah I'm a senior." He muttered and jumped in surprise as the guy grabbed him head and ruffled his hair violently,

"AWW YEAH! You're pretty small little man, but I think I like you!"

Gar smiled.

"I'm Vic." He introduced himself holding his hand out; Gar took it and shook it firmly.

"Gar."

* * *

As they walked through the halls Gar realized this guy wasn't so bad, he was actually pretty funny. Gar felt a bit guilty for thinking he was scary and mean.

"Dude! I have that game! Remember when the ninja ran through the golden bridge and then the clay monster blew him up with a grenade?"

"I couldn't believe he survived, I thought for sure that he'd have to be resurrected by the Pandora Stone!"

"That clay monster sure was nasty huh?" Gar laughed, "I almost couldn't beat him. I was just about to look up a cheat."

"Don't even joke about that." Victor warned, his voice serious and his eyes playful, "Cheats should be illegal"

"Dude! I know! They're so… cheap."

Gar, for the first time in a while, felt like he'd met someone who was just like him. From what he'd seen in the past 7 minutes, this guy was awesome! They both loved T.V. and videogames. They both seemed to be the energetic, happy sort. For the first time in a while, Gar didn't feel lonely.

"Here's the class, welcome to hell." He said with a smile not fitting his statement.

"Huh?"

"If you don't like Advanced Science, it may as well be." He explained, "For me, this is heaven, but you don't seem like the type."

Gar nodded sheepishly, "Hell, here I come."

When they opened the door he was greeted by a red headed teacher, "Garfield Logan?" She demanded in a slightly bored voice. He nodded again. "Miss. Isley" she introduced. The teacher seemed as if she had better things to do, "You can sit next to Rachel and I expect you'll be on time tomorrow?"

"I'll try." Gar said cheekily, "No promises."

"Just sit down." She sighed, though she sounded annoyed her eyes held amusement, "At the back to the right corner, Rachel could you raise your hand to show him where you are?"

Only one girl didn't look up when Miss. Isley said it.

_She's pretty, _he thought. She had long purple hair and she seemed to be hiding herself in her hoodie. He got the impression that she was a little dark, her face seemed to be in a perpetual frown and she appeared to be alone. No one sat in the seats around her, or even acknowledged her presence.

"I should have known you wouldn't say anything Miss. Roth," Miss Isley groaned, "Garfield, it's the girl in the back corner."

_So that's Rachel, _Gar thought as he made his way towards the empty seat next to her. He sat into his seat and as he pushed his chair in it squeaked so loud he, as well as others around him, cringed.

Rachel didn't so much as glance at him. He was somewhat disappointed that he hadn't gotten a reaction, he wasn't going to lie, he liked attention, and getting attention from this girl was strangely important to him. He had no idea why, it was weird, but he did.

Gar attempted to catch her eye and failed multiple times, Rachel just kept studying her desk as if she thought that if she stared at it long enough, she'd burn a hole through it.

Eventually he got annoyed and poked her arm, Rachel whipped around quickly.

Gar flinched, "Sorry." He squeaked.

"Do. Not. Touch. Me." Rachel spoke curtly, her face was stony and her eyes were still unfeeling. Gar saw her entire face for the first time. It was sad, a face that didn't see happiness, he knew that from the lack of visible expression lines around her mouth. Her skin was a pale grey color and she had large eyes the color of some dark purple flower he'd seen, he couldn't remember the name, but he'd recognize the color anywhere. Her eyes, they had first appeared unfeeling, but he could see that they were sad. That was the only word his limited vocabulary could think of, sad.

Right then and there Garfield Logan made a promise to himself that he would get those eyes happy, he would get Rachel Roth to smile.

**4. Kori**

Kori Anders hadn't spent much time in America, but all she really knew was that Americans were strange people. All their customs were still very odd to her. She had come here while the weather was still hot and she still was not required to attend, 'the school', and when she had had to attend, she couldn't understand anything that was going on.

Even now in her science class, she could only vaguely comprehend what the woman of education was speaking of. Much of the chosen words were ones she had never heard. She felt a little alone at her school, no one liked talking with her very much, at least the girls. The males seemed to like doing the flirting with her but Kori suspected they didn't actually want to be her friend.

So she was forced to bear school until the Holidays of Winter and the idea of it did not appeal to her. She gazed at the seats around her; most of them were full with people who didn't talk to her, except for the boy who had attempted to grab her in a womanly area. Kori didn't think she liked him very much.

"Class dismissed!" The teacher announced. Kori put her things away slowly and quietly made her way out of the classroom. She had the lunch now and she did not feel like going into the room of eating and sitting alone again. At first Kori had tried to sit with others, she'd tried her sister even, but was only rejected by both Kaylea and her friends.

She made the decision to go out for a walk instead of enduring the sadness of being by oneself at a table of lunch. As Kori walked she twirled her reddish, brown hair between her fingers, searching for split ends. Her hair was straight across and was free of dead hair, but it was a nervous habit of hers that she did when she was feeling insecure of unsure of her surroundings.

Kori could still remember the day her sister had publically rejected her. Kori had felt the break of the heart as she heard the words, "Ugly bitch, don't even look at me." Kori could recall running out and crying in the room with the facilities.

Eating on a place where people created waste was not ideal and Kori hoped that she never had to do that again. She had been devastated, and the next day, she didn't even bother looking for her sister. Kori only sat in a table off in the corner with another student, one who didn't speak English, or any language Kori herself knew.

Kori walked around for a wandered around a while, bought lunch, and found a tree that had an appealing appearance to eat under. She silently set up her small spot and hummed as she unpacked her lunch, which consisted of a… she struggled to remember the name. _Sam-which? _She wondered, she dismissed the thought and pulled a bottle of mustard out if her designer bag and squeezed it onto the food item, which she still could properly not name. Once it was drenched she gleamed with happiness, then took a sip of the left over liquid.

Kori took a generous bite and sighed, feeling very blissful. As she did Kori heard a chuckle, she turned her head towards the sound. There stood Richard Grayson. He was in a few of her classes, she hadn't seen him in class for a few weeks, and Richard was often absent. Kori could not understand the reason why.

Yet there Richard was, leaning against a tree nearby, finding amusement in something Kori was doing. His eyes were covered by his dark sunglasses, and his hands were located inside his pockets in a most casual way.

"May I ask what is amusing?" She asked tilting her head to the side and putting her index finger to her chin, "I do not understand. Have I made a joke?"

Richard only smirked, leaving Kori even more confused, "Is it not customary for Americans to answer when they are asked a question?"

"Sure it is." He sighed lazily.

"Then why did you not reply to my previous question?" Kori pondered, almost to herself.

"I'm answering now." He pointed out. Kori didn't reply due to her bewilderment, what was he speaking of, the way he answered her questions did not give her any answers, only more questions.

"I do not understand." Kori finally admitted helplessly.

"Good," He replied, though his voice seemed nonchalant, Kori could somehow sense an undertone of darkness as he said, "It's better you don't understand this world, it only screws with your head, y'know?"

"Tell me, how does one screw a head?" She wondered, "You speak in strange ways."

"Does it really matter?" He said, the darkness coming out to the surface of his voice even more, "Better be someone like you, who doesn't get the shit hole we live in than someone like me who causes shit."

"Richard, are you alright?" Kori inquired, she may have been unable to fully understand why what he said caused him to be unhappy, but she could tell that he was, "You seem down in the garbage chute."

He chuckled again slightly, "I believe the term is down in the dumps Miss. Anders."

"Oh… well many thanks to you!" She smiled brightly; glad to have learned a new custom of the country, "I assure you I am most grateful!"

"I don't doubt it." He muttered as he walked off, opposite way of the school.

"I hope to see you in the Class of English!" Kori called out to him.

He did not reply, but she did hope that perhaps, whatever it was about her that he found amusing had made his day a little more joyous. Just a little.

* * *

Kori walked into her English class, and sat in her seat at the front. She turned her head and was most disappointed when she saw that Richard's seat was uninhabited.

She did however notice that another boy sat in the previously unused seat next to Richard's. He was a miniature size for someone his age; she then thought it could be due to the fact that Kori herself was quite tall for a girl. The boy was grinning, and making a boy named Wally laugh. She then decided that she liked this boy, and that he seemed most kind.

The teacher began to speak on a novel that they were supposed to read. Everyone settled down and the boy resumed making Wally snicker, only in hushed tones. He was silenced by the educator, and he was visibly dejected.

Kori turned back to him, and gave him the kindest smile she could. The boy returned it with a wink and thumbs up. Normally Kori would consider this an act of the flirting, but she did not think he had meant it in that sort of manner, which made her esteem for this boy grow even more.

When Kori turned around there was Richard, at the door. She could not mask her surprise and gasped silently. The teacher, Ms. Quinzel stared too.

"I'd scold you for being late but… seeing as you haven't been her in like 3 weeks, just take your damn seat."

Richard only grunted and walked down towards his desk. Leaving Kori somewhat happy with herself, this quickly dissolved when he stopped at her desk and muttered, not even looking at her, "Don't think I came because of you, I have some things I need to sort out."

Kori visibly deflated.

Of course, who would do something for a Klorbag like her?

**5. Richard**

Richard Grayson was done. He was done with school, with home, with everything. All he wanted right now was to be able to go off and do whatever he wanted.

Bruce was worse than ever, it was like he never knew about the 17 year old downstairs that was causing problems. He was too busy with his work and his company to even consider Richard. His attitude was even worse; when he was talking to Richard he was cold and distant. He couldn't even picture the guy smiling; it would probably crack his face.

However Bruce didn't usually bother with him, he left him to the damn butler. Alfred, he was called. The guy was so patronizing he couldn't take it. He cared too much about the well-being of the Wayne Household that he only cared that Richard didn't do anything physically or socially damaging to the houses reputation.

School was worse, teachers telling him what to do, how to do it and why they know best. It pissed him off and Richard had had enough, adults were all the same.

He was described by adults as a rebellious, angry teen who was lucky he wasn't in juvenile hall, or jail. Richard scoffed at this; he wasn't in jail because no one had caught him yet, he couldn't be caught. Anyone looking for evidence of his heists were evidently disappointed, they couldn't pin anything on him. The only thing they could prove was that he was a 17 year old kid who needed an attitude adjustment, but that much was obvious. One didn't have to investigate to figure that out, the fact that it was insanely difficult to have a civil conversation with the young Grayson without wanting to wring his neck said enough.

Right now Richard was in misery. He was in class, English to be exact. Richard had thought that he had no choice; he owed Adonis some money for some beer he got off of them. He couldn't find another time to pay them back. He considered just not paying them, but after the incident with Johnny Rancid, Bruce threatened that he'd have his head if another one of his 'friends' showed up at his door with a gun. Scared the hell out of Alfred too, when he opened the door.

Richard was about to fall asleep when the new kid next to him snickered loudly; he and Wally hadn't shut up since he sat down. Richard didn't even want to tell this kid to shut up with this idiot in fear that he would start thinking it was ok to converse with him. As the two burst into yet another fit of hushed laughter he pulled his glasses over his eyes in an attempt to allow one of his senses to be relieved of the two hooligans.

Through the dark lenses he watched that girl. Kori Anders. She was strange, not just the fact that she belonged on the island of misfit toys, but that she was such an innocent person who was good to people, and she had yet to make a single friend during her time here. From the few moments he'd spoken with her, he knew he hated her.

Richard wasn't sure exactly what it was about her, maybe it was her obnoxious cheer, or her naivety, but he did and he couldn't help it. Perhaps he didn't hate her; it may be resentment that he felt. Whatever he felt towards Kori, it bothered him just as much as her smiles did.

When the class was over Richard met up quickly with Adonis, the guy was happy to get his money and couldn't shut up about how Richard had arranged a meeting during school hours. Richard merely scoffed at this and told him that if he wanted Richard to keep buying, he'd better learn to keep his mouth shut. Adonis left shortly after that, just as the boy suspected.

Richard was about to walk home when he felt his phone vibrate.

_Alfred._

"What is it?" he groaned as he answered the phone.

"Just making sure your alive Master Grayson." He replied in his thick English accent, "I assumed you'd either been kidnapped or killed seeing as you haven't been out of your bed this early in approximately 6 years."

"Yeah, well I went to school," he said, his voice annoyed, "Why didn't you call earlier if you thought I was killed?"

"The reason for that was due to the fact that no person other than you has been in your room during the morning again, for the past 6 years; I only just realized your absence."

"Aren't you thorough." Richard said sarcastically.

"I try."

"I'm sure."

"I assume by your tone of voice and apparent attitude you loved your day at school."

"Hated every minute of it."

"As I suspected."

"Goodbye Alfred."

"Good day Master Grayson."

Richard heard the dial tone and shut his phone off.

That's when he heard the shouting.

**6. Jinx**

Jinx really liked to think of herself as a merciful, kind person. That didn't mean she actually was one. She knew that she wasn't, but it made her feel better to think that she might be.

Right now was a different story however. She felt no ounce of kindness in her soul at the moment; she was on a mission, a mission to kill Rachel Roth. Well… maybe not kill, but beating her senseless would do just fine.

Jinx was outraged when she had learned this morning that Rachel had given Seymour a black eye yesterday. He'd walked in, the skin surrounding his eye purple and black, and Gizmo told her. Jinx never had liked Rachel, but this made things even more personal than when they had been before. They had a history ever since they'd first seen each other in ninth grade, that meeting was enough to fuel a rivalry.

Now she was marching across the halls, her group of friends trailing closely behind her. Jinx was ready to start interrogating other students as to Rachel Roth's whereabouts when she quickly glanced outside of the window at the back of the school.

She looked away then whipped her head back around when she realized what she'd seen.

"Found her."

* * *

"Roth!" She yelled from the school door entrance. The purple haired girl may have been far away from where Jinx stood, but she turned around all the same.

"Get over here!" But Rachel only looked at her a moment with her cold, unfeeling eyes, then turned and kept walking. Infuriated with her lack of response Jinx quickly, but coolly approached the girl. As she existed the school's overhang rain drops pelted her skin.

When she was close enough, Jinx reached her hand out to grab Rachel's shoulder and jerk her around, but before she could the latter spun around as if she'd been aware of Jinx's presence the entire time. Rachel didn't say a word and just looked at her quizzically as if saying, "Are you really going to do this now?"

Yes, yes she was.

"Keep your hands off anyone I associate with." She warned.

"I wasn't aware that Seymour couldn't speak for himself."

"I can defend people if I want; at least I have people I can defend and those who will defend me. What do you have _Rachel?" _Jinx emphasized the last word in a tone of false kindness, causing very slight look of annoyance to cross Rachel's face, but as soon as it arrived, it left.

"Are you so desperate for validation that you have to disturb other people's time in an attempt to gain attention?" Rachel countered deadpan.

Jinx smiled sweetly, her eyes flashing, and threw a punch so quick that even Rachel couldn't have moved out of the way. She stumbled back and fell to the ground.

At this point a crowd was beginning to form in the middle of the parking lot where they were. Rachel was still for a moment, still on the ground, her long hair creating a purple veil over her face, she was breathing heavily, as if trying to calm herself down.

Jinx could almost feel the anger radiating off of Rachel's person. Jinx suddenly felt a stab of nervousness; she knew what kind of people surrounded Rachel, and the environment she was brought up in. She would have no problem reciprocating the punch.

But Jinx knew what she herself went through being raised, she could hold her own against Rachel.

Rachel looked up at her; her eyes were no longer blank, but blazing with anger. She suddenly got up and in a flash, even faster than Jinx had, returned the punch with extreme force. Jinx cried out as it connected with her jaw. She then fell to the ground spitting out blood. Rachel loomed over her dangerously.

"What's the matter?" She scoffed maliciously, "Can't fight back?" Jinx started at her in surprise, never before had she seen Rachel like this, it was as if she was a completely different person, a mere shell of the girl everyone knew her as. "You really thought that you could hit me and get away with it? Don't make me laugh! I've seen things you can't even think up of in your ugly little mind. You haven't seen anything bad yet, _Iris." _She seemed to be mocking and growling at the same time, "You dare touch me again and I will rip you apart, and won't hesitate in doing so. I've had to do worse, touch me again and I'll kill you."

Jinx reached up to feel her jaw, her hand touching the blood. That would leave a mark, and despite Rachel's words, she didn't move.

"That's what I thought." Rachel laughed cruelly as she turned to walk away, and stopped before saying one last taunt, "Coward."

That was it; Jinx could feel everyone surrounding the two of them staring at her, seeing what she would do. Jinx was not about to lose her reputation to Rachel, to someone who openly mocked her. She hauled herself up and Rachel glanced back, "Oh, is little _Iris_ getting up like a big girl?"

"Shut up." Jinx said under her breath, as she strolled up to Rachel. She threw a punch, to which the girl stepped away from and raised an eyebrow. Jinx smirked, she had fallen for it. As Rachel moved, Jinx used her other arm to other fist to connect with Rachel's side, it knocked the girl off balance, but she dropped to the ground, hands on the wet pavement, supporting her as she swiped both legs in front of her tripping Jinx and causing her to fall to the pavement.

Jinx launched herself at the girl and pinning her to the wet gravel and began hitting her repeatedly in the face, before she could get many hits in Rachel blocked her fist and rolled making her on top of Jinx and the one throwing the attacks.

Every hit hurt like hell and Jinx tried in vain to stop the barrage, when suddenly they stopped.

Someone had pulled Rachel off.

**7. Contention Colère**

Just as she began hitting Jinx, she was yanked off of her. Who had done it? She'd kill them.

Rachel wrenched her arms from the grip of the bastard and whipped around to see who it had been. When she saw who it was she gripped his shoulder and threw him to the side. It was the boy from her Science class, the one who she disliked from the second she saw him, the one who she hated since the moment he poked her.

"You!" She seethed, "Did you not understand me when I told you _never to touch me!" _

His dark green eyes were filled with fear, but only a moment, it was then replaced with determination, which pissed Rachel off even more.

"Stop." That was all he said, "Just… stop."

Rachel almost went to beat him to a pulp, when she sensed someone coming up behind her; she jerked around to see Jinx's attempt to get her from behind fail, due to a large boy slipping his arms underneath Jinx's and holding her back. Jinx spat, "I thought I told you to stay away from me!"

"Not when you pick fights with my friends." He said calmly, "Rachel." He greeted with a nod.

"Victor." She replied grudgingly.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked, his voice level.

Damn him, damn him and his damn tranquility.

"You should listen to Jinx," Rachel answered angrily, "I don't need you, or this shrimp," She directed her thumb at the kid behind her, "To try and change me."

"Ha! Told you!" Jinx laughed cruelly, "She doesn't want you meddling, now let me go before I kick you where the sun don't shine."

"Stop." The shrimp said again. Did he know any other words?

"Shut up!" Rachel snarled as she gripped him by the tops of his arms and threw him for the second time.

He hit someone behind him, someone who had been in the middle of the crowd,

"Oh look, it's the idiot who won't keep his mouth shut." Richard Grayson said, clearly bored, He leaned forward his piercing blue eyes glaring into the kids "You don't want to make me angry."

"O-of course not," He stuttered then laughed nervously get up and dusting his now wet pants off, "I-I mean uh-" He was cut short by Richard lifting his leg and kicking him back to the parking lot floor. Richard then began fighting the kid.

This left Victor visibly distracted, Jinx saw an opening and kicked Victor where she'd threatened to, causing him to let her free. Rachel saw an opportunity and resumed her attack.

The crowd was shouting, all 5 of them tussling about, it soon became apparent that no one really knew why they were fighting anymore, Rachel was fighting an evenly matched Richard, meeting him punch for punch, kick for kick. Each of them obviously experienced fighters.

Victor was defending the shrimp from Jinx, it was obvious he didn't often fight but his brute force was able to block Jinx's nimble attacks, the shrimp hadn't managed to get many hits in, but by the blood of his face, he'd been hit plenty.

Rachel was running purely on adrenaline, her anger fueling her energy. It no longer mattered who she was fighting just so long as she was. It felt good, it felt really good.

Richard attempted to smash his fist into her face; she caught his large fist in her small hand with ease. She grinned, and it wasn't a happy one. Rachel twisted his wrist and he grunted, using her other hand, she attempted to mimic his attack. Richard ducked but Rachel still felt her hand make contact.

She'd hit someone in the crowd.

Shit.

It was a girl, who looked about Rachel's own age, she had a pretty face, and Rachel had just hit it.

The girl didn't move, she stayed ridged in shock. Her face wore an expression of confusion and distress. Rachel just stared, as did the other 4. The auburn haired girl struggled to find words to say, right then Rachel remembered who she was.

Kaylea Ander's sister Kori. The girl who was alone, just like Rachel. The only difference being that Kori didn't deserve her solitude.

What had Rachel been doing? How could she lose control like this? Suddenly she felt vulnerable, all these people watching her, seeing what she had done. Rachel hastily pulled up her hood to try to hide herself, it was futile but she did it anyways.

"Kori I-" She began but was cut off by Mr. Wilson bursting through the crowd, "Now, now," He sighed, his voice surprisingly void of anger, "What do we have here?"

He strolled casually around the paring lot as the audience scattered away, "Victor Stone, Football Captain. Shame, shame Vic. This could affect your scholarship applications." He passed the large boy and passed the shrimp, "Garfield Logan, didn't I warn you only 6 hours ago about causing problems? Twice in one day… tsk tsk," He then turned to Jinx, "Ah Jinx, can't say I'm surprised, just can't seem to stay out of trouble can you?" He went right up to Richard, maybe a little to close Rachel remarked to herself, "Richard Grayson, why are you even at school, don't you usually skip?" He left it at that and moved on to Rachel, "Rachel Roth, don't glare at me, it won't scare me. You really let loose didn't you? Very unlike you I must say." Rachel contained her indignation and wore her default face. Just when she thought he'd finished his condescending speech he turned to Kori, "Kori Anders, now I'm surprised. I did not expect this from you."

Poor Kori, her eyes began to well up but instead of protesting that she had nothing to do with the fight she just nodded submissively and burst into tears. Mr. Wilson patted her head comfortingly, "We all make mistakes, and we just have to make up for them. Which all of you will be doing. If any of you have plans, change them, you're all coming with me."

**8. Une Curieuse Répression**

"I hope you realize what you've done is unacceptable." Mr. Wilson said, "You all are lucky I like most of you because I've decided that none of you will be expelled. I've been coming up with a new form of punishment in schools, you lucky children are going to be my guinea pigs per say. For the next 2 weeks every day after school you will stay in a classroom with one another, unsupervised. You must learn to deal with one another and learn to overcome your differences. You will be given a series of questions you must be able to answer about each person by the end of the two weeks. Each of you must answer them about one of your peers as well as say what you've learned about this person you never knew before and say how the experience changed your opinion of them. If I do not find your answers satisfactory that will result in another two weeks… for all of you. Should you decide to not show up I will not hesitate to involve the cops and have you all arrested for assault. Are we clear?"

All 6 teens stared at the vice principle in disbelief.

* * *

Yaay! First chapter of my very first fic! I hope you all liked it.

The characters are most likely going to be a little different than in the Cartoon Network show. The fact that none of them have powers makes their lives very different, and a lot of them have slightly different personalities. I tried to make their back stories as canon as I could, but how canon can you really be in an AU. I promise there is a reason for why each character is the way they are.

Rachel is a strange sort, extremely quiet, a loner, and doesn't really care about what people think. Like Raven she doesn't like small talk or people. Her family life seems very mysterious at this point but all will be made clear to you in future chapters. You may wonder about her minor freak out, it's supposed to be similar to in nevermore when she suddenly snapped and became a completely different person. I wanted that aspect of her to be depicted in this story.

Victor is athletic, funny, and generally a happy guy. Maybe a bit of a smart ass, but he was kinda like that in the show. Like in canon, Vic is very accepting of Rachel's behavior and doesn't like judging her for it. All the characters in this story are quite miserable, and have every right to be so, but there is one thing about Vic that sets him apart from others and that should become apparent in time.

Gar is punny, a little nerdy (in the videogame sense, not smart sense), and quite hyperactive. He seems to be a pretty good guy, but butts into people's business a bit too much. He jumps to extreme conclusions and isn't really much of a fighter. Some readers may have noticed his slight dejection when the office asked for his guardian to sign a few things, those who are familiar with Garfield's original past in the comics may understand why... in part.

Kori is sweet, innocent, naïve, and alone. I've always thought that if Starfire hadn't met the Teen Titans, a group of really unique and weird people, she wouldn't really fit in anywhere else. It is like that in this fic. Her sister Kaylea (In case you were wondering Kaylea is Blackfire in this story) isn't exactly ideal and as of right now anything else about Miss. Anders is uncharted territory. Forgive me if some of you don't like the dark side I give her, I figured a happy go lucky, two dimensional character didn't really fit and that Starfire always had more to her personality than that.

Richard is really the character I changed the most. He is sarcastic, angry, rude, and has a knack for making trouble. He's more like the dark side of Robin sometimes explored by the Television show, mixed with a hint of Red X. Believe me, it will make sense why he is as brooding as he is, and that sweet side of Robin will appear eventually.

Jinx is really a character that no one really knows much about. I found her characterization in the show a bit inconsistent. At the beginning she was flirty, smart mouthed, and generally pretty dark and badass. Then in season five she was an organized, hardworking, and a suck up. For the purposes of this fic, I choose the badass side of her to write. And since her origins are unknown it should be interesting to see how she comes out.

If you've read this much of the author's note, I commend you. I can be pretty boring.

I will update each month, there will be twelve chapters in all, and should finish by the end of the year. This was only a prologue, to introduce the plot and characters, the real story should start next month. The epilogue should arrive in December.

As you may have guessed, this has nothing to do with the story 'Les Miserables' the name was only used because of the fact that all 6 main characters are miserable people and I just finished the book by Victor Hugo.

The chapters and subchapters will all be in French, please do not ask me why, because I will not tell you. (mostly cause I too, have no idea.) If you wish to understand the meaning use google translate. I am fairly fluent in the language (being in the highest French class my school can offer) but I will use the site for words I do not know. I know that the site can be horribly wrong but it's convenient.

Yup.

**Poll**

**What did you think of the beginning? (Say what you like I won't be offended)**

**A) **Amazing! I loved it, please keep writing!

**B) **It was good but…(elaborate on how I could improve, because this is very helpful)

**C) **SWEET MOTHER OF PEARL! I HAD TO WASH MY EYES OUT IT WAS SO HORRIBLE! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

**D) **Other (Let me know)


	2. Week 1: First Day

**NOTE: My ongoing Teen Titans story, "Les Miserables" will be updated every month, no exception. I have planned it this way for a reason and will not be posting multiple chapters in one month. Updates could be at the beginning, middle or end of a month. I only say this because I don't want people thinking I've abandoned it when I haven't. If I don't update in one month (which is highly unlikely) there will be two chapters that month, the only reason a chapter will be late is if something extreme happens in my personal life, like me getting hit by a bus or something. I will not just not update due to laziness. Other stories will generally be updated randomly, with no specific time frame.**

**9. Condamné, Enfermé, Vissé: **(Condemned, Locked Up, Screwed)

Gar had no idea what this whole plan to punish the four of them was. It wasn't exactly his fault he was clueless, he'd listened to Mr. Wilson's speech, well most of it. Gar was a little too busy coming up with a reason for a judge why he didn't need deserve to go to jail till he was 60. He might have spaced out a little… but it honestly wasn't that much!

This was the reason Gar was freaking out all the next day, he couldn't concentrate at all in any of his classes. Sad thing was, almost everyone else involved didn't seem fazed at all. Victor had acted as nice as he had the day before; Rachel glared at her desk in Advanced Science and hadn't seemed to change. Richard just sat in class with his sunglasses covering his eyes, but Gar was 85% sure he was sleeping. He hadn't seen Creepy Pinky all day.

Kori was the only one who was as nervous as he was, she looked as if she was on the verge of tears all through English. Miss. Quinzel had to excuse her from class to go to the washroom. Gar had a suspicion that she let her tears flow the moment she left. He'd shot her a weak smile, that may or may not have appeared supportive; she returned it and then left.

Gar really wanted to say that he wished he hadn't even gotten into that fight, his jaw still hurt from the punch Rachel had thrown at him, to say nothing of his butt, which was probably broken or something. Even after all the crap that had happened to him, he couldn't say he regretted it. Those chicks would have torn each other apart. He did kinda want to have some sorta redo, where it had gone a lot more peacefully, preferably where he hadn't gotten thrown on the ground by a girl. Twice.

His pride hurt more than his ass, but remembering what had happened, and what might have happened, made him feel a lot better about what had went down.

* * *

_"Hey dude!" Gar called out._

_Vic turned around and waved enthusiastically at the boy across the hall, "Gar!" When he caught up to Vic_ _the taller boy grinned, "How's the first day? Make any mortal enemies yet?" _

_"Heh." Gar huffed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly._

_"Already?!" Vic cried, "Dawg, you crazy. Who?"_

_"Rachel Roth."_

_"What! You really are crazy!" _

_"Dude, I know! All I did was poke her and she just snapped at me!" Gar defended._

_"All you did was poke her? You poked her?" Vic demanded, slapping his face with his palm._

_"I didn't think she'd mind, she seemed alone so I thought I could tell her a joke." Gar protested._

_They reached the back door and Vic pulled up his hood to shelter himself from the rain, "Sorry I don't think Rachel would enjoy your kind of humor, or any humor for that matter. She __**likes **__being alone Gar, she always has."_

_"You know her?" Gar asked in surprise, he hadn't expected that Rachel would hang around a guy like Vic._

_"Went to kindergarten together, I'm supposedly the 'only one' she'll ever talk to."_

_"Really? Maybe you can introduce me… I feel a little stupid for annoying her and I'd like to get on her good side." Gar sighed, blinking as the rain drops fell into his green eyes. _

_"Well yea, that was kinda dumb." He chuckled, "But honestly, the rumors aren't exactly true, y'know the ones about her being my friend. I wish I could say she was, but today was the first day I talked to her in 8 months, we aren't that close."_

_"Have you ever made her smile?" Gar wondered out loud._

_"Me? No. Don't think I've seen her actually smile, unless you count a slight smirk."_

_"Oh." Gar bit his lip in thought._

_"What brought this on?" Vic asked, raising his eyebrow._

_Gar shrugged, "Dunno, just thought she might look even prettier with a smile than a frown."_

_"Lil' man, good luck." Vic replied, "And you'll need it."_

_They walked in the rain silently for only a moment when they heard shouting. What was it? Gar had no idea, but he knew that they weren't happy shouts. He got a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach and asked Vic, "What is that?"_

_For the first time since Gar met him, the dude was dead serious, "Not sure, but I might have an idea."_

_Vic broke out into a sprint towards the parking lot; Gar noticed that there was a large crowd of people gathered in a circle, all yelling. He went towards it as fast as he could, following Vic._

_Gar reached him a few moments after he had stopped; Vic was staring into the crowd in horror. Gar followed his gaze and saw a thin, pink haired girl on the ground and Rachel looming over her. He could barely make out what she was saying, but he did hear._

_"You really thought that you could hit me and get away with it? Don't make me laugh! I've seen things you can't even think up of in your ugly little mind. You haven't seen anything bad yet, Iris." She appeared to be a completely different person than the one who had quietly threatened him, "You dare touch me again and I will rip you apart, and won't hesitate in doing so. I've had to do worse, touch me again and I'll kill you."_

_Gar panicked, it wasn't often he had to play the hero apart from video games, but he did feel like he needed to pull these two apart. A little person like him couldn't really fight, but those girls looked pretty damn vicious._

_Pinky was now on top of Rachel, hitting her face; Rachel rolled her over and mimicked her actions._

_Vic turned his head away from the two girls and met Gar's gaze. Very slightly he motioned his head towards the fight, knowing what he meant, Gar nodded then burst through the crowd._

_He knew what he had to do, Gar knew full well he could get arrested, or die._

_Well maybe not die._

_Even if he did, he had people waiting for him._

_So he ran._

* * *

Gar looked at the group nervously waiting outside of the classroom, was everybody glaring at him? Having the suspicion that everyone around you wanted nothing more than to bash you into a wall was not a very nice feeling.

Vic and Kori hadn't arrived yet and he felt like he'd been left for the wolves. Gar knew animals, it was either hunt, or be hunted. If he was animal, he would definitely feel like the prey.

Rachel had her hood up and was leaning against the wall a few feet away from everyone else. If he even glanced vaguely in her direction, she would stare at him so hard that he could feel the so called 'daggers' digging into him.

Richard stood in a casual stance and had his hands in his pocket, this time his glasses were nowhere to be seen. Gar didn't dare look into his piercing blue eyes, he might get kicked again.

Pinky was lying on the ground with her one leg crossed over the other and was picking at her black colored nails. No matter how hard he tried, Gar couldn't figure out her name, she'd been called Jinx by a few people, but Rachel had called her Iris. So instead of dwelling on it, he just took to referring to her as Pinky.

"Soo…" He began cautiously, trying to start conversion and was instantly shut down by raised eyebrows and blazing eyes, "Alright I'll just shut up."

"You do that." Pinky said distantly, examining her nails.

Just when Gar thought he might burst, he saw Vic coming down the halls, accompanied by Kori. He breathed a sigh of relief.

As they approached he heard Kori's lively chatter,

"Oh I am so glad that we met Friend Victor, you are most kind. I do hope that this 'Detention' will not prove too unbearable."

Well they seemed like good friends.

For some reason, Richard's glare seemed to intensify as the two strolled up.

"Yo! Where's Mr. Wilson?" Vic called, when he saw the unresponsive and sullen faces look up at him he sighed, "Alright y'all, who died?"

"If you don't shut up, you might." Pinky said absentmindedly.

"Oooooo." Rachel marveled, Vic smirked at her sarcasm. Judging by the tension that had just risen, Gar braced himself for people to actually start dying.

"Y'know Roth, shut up, no one wants to hear your crap." Jinx countered, still seeming unaffected and casual.

"No one wants to hear yours either." Richard replied.

"Richard, can you leave your rich ass out of my business or I'll kick it back so hard your butler won't recognize you." Jinx drawled, her voice was surprisingly calm for the threat she'd just made. The way she had said it so easily almost made the warning even more threatening, as if she could do it easily. Gar took a slight step away from her.

"Friends, must we fight? Are we not here to get to understand one another?" Kori asked desperately. Poor Kori, no one answered her.

Gar sighed, normally he would have jumped into an argument with a joke, no question, but he was in enough trouble, and he didn't need anywhere else on him bruised.

"What's your problem?" Richard demanded, "You annoyed with us, with our arguing? That's really something coming from the kid who won't keep his mouth shut."

"Dude! I didn't say that! I swear! I'm just… impatient!" He lit up when he came up with an excuse for his 'annoyed' sigh, "Mr. Wilson's taking a long time. I'm just bored!"

"Bullshit." Jinx laughed.

"Y'all, just shut up," Vic groaned, "Honestly, I don't want to be here as much as the next person, but haven't we all caused enough trouble?"

The five teens said nothing in reply; they just kept their eyes away from Vic. The silence was awkward. Too awkward.

"He's right."

Gar blinked in surprise as Rachel spoke, cutting the silence. Everyone glanced at her in surprise. When the girl saw this she stared back, "What?"

"Yeah! Go Rae!" Gar grinned.

"Don't call me that."

"OK" he squeaked.

Kori finally was at ease and relaxed, for which Gar was grateful. He liked Kori; she smiled at him when he got yelled at in class. Gar didn't really understand why she was so nice, but was friendless. Well, at least Vic had kinda talked to her and stuff, that had made her happy.

Rachel. He still was going to stand by what he'd promised to Vic and himself and make that girl smile. It was weird, his sudden interest in her. The natural jokester in him was possibly just annoyed that there was someone who wouldn't laugh at his pranks.

That must have been it.

**10. En Bas, Dans la Poubelle Tirer : **(Down in the Garbage Shute)

Mr. Wilson had arrived, the others seemed to be upset that the man was absent for 25 minutes after the specified time of meeting. Kori did not really mind, he did come at least.

The previous day was quite an event. She was unable to explain to her mother and father the reason for the purple and black injury that was located on her cheek. Galfore had told her that it would be gone in a week or two. This had put Kori's own mind at 'the rest' for she had no wish for the dark color to be on her face any longer than needed.

Kori had attempted the explanation, but her parents had a plane they were required to catch and had left before she had a chance. Kaylea had done the mocking and that had not made Koru feel good on her insides.

That truly was not what was bothering her. Kori did grasp the fact that she would not understand many things in America for a while, but she could not comprehend why she was blamed for fighting.

Kori had forgiven Rachel; she understood forgiveness and that Rachel had not meant to hit her. Why she herself had been blamed, Kori did not understand.

Mr. Wilson was now explaining how the next few days would go. He did hand them a sheet with some of the things they would have to know about each other.

Kori sat in a desk, front and center with her hands folded, listening attentively. She had to or else she'd miss something. After turning her head she realized everyone else could not have cared less. Victor was on his phone at a desk at the back of the room. Jinx was sitting on a desk swinging her legs poking Richard. Kori realized after the sudden snore that escaped his mouth, that he had fallen asleep. His feet were propped up onto the desk and his sunglasses covered his eyes once again. Rachel was sitting on the floor in the back corner and Gar was slowly scooting over towards her. If he had gotten into Rachel's space that is personal she would turn to him and appear angry and he would move away, then start all over again.

"I hope all of you were listening, because I really would hate it if you failed the test and you all had to do it over." Mr. Wilson paused and put his hand on his chin, "Actually, I wouldn't" As he said this he pushed Richard's feet nimbly off the desk, waking him up as well as startling Jinx.

"Well, good luck." He shrugged, "The door will be locked until 5:30, you have 2 and a half hours to spend with each other. If any blood is shed or any rules are broken, I'm sure Kori would be happy to use the phone to call me. Miss. Anders, the number is on the phone."

He then left and shut the door behind him.

Kori liked to believe the best about people but if needed, she was able to be realistic.

These five would tear each other apart.

**11. L'évitement est la Meilleure Politique: **(Avoidance is the Best Policy)

"Stop talking, I'm reading." Rachel frowned,

"You're reading?" Gar asked,

"Yes, this is a book. It has words in it. Try it sometime. Might get you to leave me alone."

"Awe Rae, you don't really want me to do that do you."

"Don't call me that, and no, of course not. I want you to keep annoying me. I love it, can't you tell by my face?" Rachel asked deadpan.

Gar squinted his eyes in a dumb confusion, "Uhhh… no?"

"It means, 'Get out of my face or I'll hurt you.'"

"Oh, sorry."

He then stopped talking, he'd finally stopped talking. It was a miracle, he hadn't stopped since the vice principal had left.

She let out a sigh of relief, barely audible. Gar smiled at her, "Soooooo, wanna here a joke?"

"No."

"Knock knock."

"…"

He leaned in and whispered in her ear urgently as if it was urgent information that he had to keep secret, "You're supposed to say 'who's there?'"

"Thanks, but I'm good." Rachel replied, causing Gar's face to fall. She shot him a questioning look.

"Ok fine, but that doesn't mean that I won't be able to get you to smile." Gar pouted, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Um, ok, I'm going." Rachel said, cutting the conversation short as she often did. She couldn't listen to his chatter any longer, so she got up and headed to a desk away from the others. What was this idiot saying? Wanting to make her smile? He hardly knew her apart from a name, a face, and that her punches hurt like hell. Why on earth would someone like him want to make someone like her smile.?

Part of her might have felt a little bad after she saw the disappointed look on Gar's face, but she quickly buried any remorse she may have felt under her annoyance and sat down.

Rachel glanced over in Kori's direction, she didn't even bother trying to hide away the guilt she felt for what she had done to the girl. Kori did not deserve any of what was happening to her, it was Rachel's fault that she was here, she wasn't so proud to say otherwise. Just listening to Kori's loving voice caused her to feel a sting of guilt.

As much as Rachel wanted to supress those feelings as well, she knew she couldn't, that she deserved to feel the guilt to its full extent. Rachel always knew she was a bad person, it wasn't exactly uncommon knowledge, but she wished she hadn't proven everyone right yesterday. It just showed that the calm, composed Rachel wasn't as in control as everyone thought. The very idea pissed her off; it caused her world's status quo to become unbalanced.

Rachel looked over at Richard who had indeed fallen back asleep. Why couldn't everyone else be like him? She and Richard had always acknowledged each other and given the other the respect they deserved. Richard left Rachel alone and Rachel left Richard alone. There were no complications, nothing to trouble oneself with. That was an ideal relationship for Rachel; unfortunately, despite her efforts she couldn't have that sort of life. People were not accommodating. Garfield Logan being one of them.

Just when Rachel thought that she would be left alone Vic pulled up a chair and sat opposite to her.

"Hey Rachel, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Well you already did," She pointed out, she had no intention of answering his questions if he was going to ask about what happened yesterday, "But go ahead I suppose."

"Are you doing alright? You seem different." His voice was concerned, but not pressing, making Rachel not want to reply honestly even more.

"I'm fine." She spoke.

"Rachel, I worry about you, you're different. What happened yesterday was not like you at all. I normally wouldn't bother ya with this, but it seems kinda serious."

"Vic, don't bother. If you're looking for serious, go see the walking, talking cotton candy stand." She gestured towards Jinx, who was behind her, picking at her chunky jewelry, "Or better yet, the shrimp, he's about as serious as they get."

"He'd make Goofy look like a genius." Vic agreed good naturedly.

"Hn."

"Rachel, if there's something wrong, I can't help unless ya tell me." He reasoned.

"Maybe I'm passed help, maybe I don't want it. Feel free to decide for yourself." She said with a voice laced with the temperature of ice. Rachel got up and went to the window. She was running out of places in this small classroom to be on her own.

She looked back over at Jinx. Rachel could still remember the day they first laid eyes on each other. How was she supposed to forget? It felt like ages ago, but the event was burned into her mind like it was yesterday.

They had been so young. Jinx didn't even have her hair all pink then and Rachel's own hair had been short and choppy. They were much more naïve back then, but by no means innocent.

She sighed, shook her head, and stopped thinking about it. Rachel couldn't change the past; if she had then she would definitely not be in this situation now. Rachel stole a glance at the clock,

Two hours to go.

**11. Cette Maison n'est pas assez Grande pour Nous Deux **(This House isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us)

"Welcome home Master Grayson." The older man spoke as he opened the large doors of Wayne Manor.

"Alfred." Richard nodded in greeting, heading straight for the stairs to get to his room. He had no desire what-so-ever to have a conversation with the man right now. Detention had been hell, a complete waste of time, and everyone in the classroom was so damn annoying.

If Vic and Gar had just calmed down and stopped blabbing for 2 seconds he might have been able to sleep more. Jinx's dumb habit of fidgeting and picking her nails or anything else around her was obnoxious. Kori was just a distraction, it was too hard to try and fall asleep with a pretty-

He stopped his thoughts on Kori short, before he went places in his head about the redhead that he didn't want to go. It would be easier to resent her properly if she didn't appear to have just walked out of a freaking Disney Channel music video, all innocent and attractive.

He wasn't going to lie, he _was_ attracted to the girl, but this only made him dislike her even more.

Rachel was fine; she knew when to leave someone alone.

"You are home early." The butler commented, voice hinting at something, "Usually I can only expect you after eleven."

_Why, did you like it when I was out of your hair? _Richard thought bitterly.

"Well now you won't have to worry about me out causing trouble for the house." Richard scoffed as he continued climbing the winding staircase.

"It is a bit too late for that isn't it?" Alfred pointed out, "Considering what you were doing yesterday."

"Screw you Alfred, it's none of your business." Richard said angrily as he stopped in his tracks.

"Master Wayne, your adoptive father, sought to make it my business."

"Did he now? He remembered that there's another person in this house besides him," He said disdainfully, while going back down the stairs to face Alfred, "Well you can tell him he can suck my-"

"Richard." A new voice spoke, cutting him off before he said something stupid.

At the end of the hall, a man, no older than 35 stood, his face hard and his stance stiff. He calmly walked towards the bulter and the teen.

"Bruce." Richard said through gritted teeth, he clenched his fists in an effort to keep calm. The man's very presence was enough to set the teen on edge.

His adoptive father nodded at Alfred and the bulter bowed out of the confrontation quietly, walked by Richard, and left the two in the foyer alone.

"This needs to stop." Bruce spoke bluntly and to the point.

"Now you pay attention to me, when I get into a fight on school property? Great timing, but too bad I'm already in some deep shit right now, so deep even your money can't buy me a way out of it. Mess with this and your 'son' will be charged and arrested, bringing even more shame on Wayne Enterprises."

"Richard, you are ignorant and naive. Keep this up and I will not hesitate calling the cops and having you arrested, whatever it does to the company." The man replied with authority.

"The company, the company, the precious company. Will you shut up about it and think about something else other than yourself and how much money you're making?"

"As I said, ignorant and naive." Bruce sighed, "You think you understand the world, but you don't, you are a child, You may be only months away from 18, but your actions and decisions are immature."

"Oh like hell! I will not be talked down on and patronized by the likes of you!" Richard yelled, "What do you know of the world? What do you know about taking care of a 'child' as you call me; you don't even have a family!"

Had Richard not hated his adoptive father so much, he might have felt guilty for his words.

"I think we're done here," Bruce replied coldly walking away, "And I hope you weren't planning on taking your arrogance riding on your bike."

_Huh? _Richard thought, confused. He checked his back pocket for the keys to his motorcycle and found nothing but a few wrappers. _How did he-_

Then it came to him, _Alfred._

Guess he would be walking to school from now on.

**12. La Douleur et le Mépris: **(Sorrow and Contempt)

Every Monday Vic dreaded his drive down to the lab. The drive was long, boring and set his gaming and exercise schedule off balance. He thought of what he could be doing right now. He could be running around town, drowning out the sounds of cars with his iPod. He could be lifting weights while watching cartoons. He could be playing Mega Monkeys! Vic had about a million things he'd rather be doing.

But instead he was making a 45 minute drive to the next few towns over, practically falling asleep at the wheel.

But he made a promise. A promise that he had to keep, not for the person he'd made the promise to, but the reason he had made it in the first place. He used to love the lab, he had spent such happy memories there as a kid, Vic wished that he could look at the place the same, but he couldn't. It just wasn't a place of refuge anymore.

Vic had however accepted that fact. There was nothing he could do about it and he had come to terms with it.

"Dawg really?!" Vic groaned as a car in the lane next to him cut his car off, "No one cuts of the T-Car!"

He swerved past the bastard, cut _him_ off, then laughed triumphantly, "I didn't spend 2 years working on this baby for nothing!"

The driver flipped him the bird.

"Well that's what he gets for driving a 2002 Toyota Corolla." He shrugged as if there was nothing he could do about it.

Vic pulled up into the lab and parked his car. It stood out from all the other stuffy boring cars. His shone a bright white, with blue trimming. It was sleek, beautiful, and perfect. It was his baby.

When he was fifteen he bought it and recreated it almost from scratch for his sixteenth birthday. It however took a lot longer than he had expected and was forced to wait another year, but his baby was worth it. He's redone and replaced the engines and made it about twice as fast as it originally was. Vic had torn apart the interior and exterior and added new parts, so basically it was a completely different car than the one he'd bought in tenth grade.

He entered the building reluctantly, pausing before opening the doors and went to the person working at the desk.

"Hey Pam, why are you at the desk today?" He asked. During the day Pamela Isley was Miss. Isley, his Advanced Science teacher, but at night she was Pam, a researcher at Gotham's Lab, specializing in plant growth.

"Ugh, don't ask." The red haired woman replied dejectedly.

"Ok."

"That jerk Mr. Fries who usually works the front decided he was gonna ditch and leave me at the desk doing," She shuddered as she said, "Paperwork."

"Aw, poor Pam, do want me to get you anything while you're chained here." He chuckled at the woman's fiery personality and obvious distain for the man.

"Victor Stone, you are an angel. A black coffee would be heavenly." Pam sighed dreamily, her tone then darkened as she spoke, "That idiot made have to put off my experiments. I was so close, and I swear if they don't let me water my plants before I leave… heads will roll. If I see him again, I'll wring his neck."

"And I don't doubt it." He said in mock seriousness.

"You're here to see Silas right?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but I'm drawing it out as long as I possibly can, I'm not really in the mood to deal with him today."

"You should go, don't worry about my coffee." Pam smiled sympathetically, handing him the visitor's tag.

Vic took it and gripped it tightly, "Did you see him at all today?"

"Only this morning, he seemed like he was in a good mood."

"He usually does, until he shuts the door to his lab room." Vic sighed, remembering the number of times he'd walked in on an unpleasant scene, but he was never surprised, just disappointed. Vic had learned not to expect much now. It did help him deal with it more.

"Vic, I'm sorry."

"Why? It's not your fault." He grinned slapping her on the back, "Don't look so down, it ain't mine either, so why worry?"

"Meh, good point, and on your way out if still feel like getting me that coffee…"

"Sure thing Pam!"

"Make sure to do that paper for Science, and on time!" She called out as he headed for the elevator.

"Will do!"

* * *

Vic stood outside the door to the lab room. The words _Silas and Eleanor Stone, Robotic Science_ were carved into the name plate above the door frame. A sharp pain pierced through his chest as he read it. He ran his hands through his non-existent hair and reached for the door handle.

Though his big hand gripped it tightly, Vic couldn't bring himself to open it. He breathed in heavily and squeezed his eyes shut trying to prepare himself for what was behind the door.

He slowly opened the door, hoping to find the man working at his desk peacefully.

Once the door was fully open, the first thing he noticed was that the lights were off. The brightness from the hallway gave a strip of light allowing Vic to see the mess. The lab was filthy, papers were everywhere, test tubes scattered all over the room, various prototypes spread across the floor. Vic's heart sank as he saw what was on the tables.

Beer bottles.

Some full, some half empty, some dry as a desert, tipped onto their sides.

He heard a voice speak from the shadows.

"Victor?"

Vic swallowed painfully, "Yeah, it's me."

"Why arrrre you here?" The voice asked, as if it were in pain.

"It's Monday, didn't you remember?" Vic said. He spoke stonily but it was a blow to his heart that the man knew he was coming, but went ahead and drank anyways.

"Isss not Maundayy, I rememmer…" The voice slurred as Vic approached the figure, covered by the dark. It was sprawled across the floor almost underneath a table.

"No, you wouldn't remember idiot, you've been drinking." Vic said with a roll of his eyes snatching the bottle from the figures hands. It tried to grab it back but was too intoxicated to have much depth perception, "Hope ya realize that soon someone's gonna catch ya with all this booze, then you'll be screwed."

"They'll underthand." He replied dazedly, "Smantha did…"

"It's Pamela stupid, and we're lucky she did. If someone like Mr. Fries saw it he'd go straight to Dr. Strange." Vic reasoned, and he wasn't lying, if word got out to the Head of the Lab, Hugo Strange, the man would be let go instantly and with no reference.

"Victerrrr, I'm sorrreh."

"Why does everyone say that man?" Vic wondered aloud, "Don't be sorry, want happened couldn't be helped."

"NO!" The voice suddenly shouted, rage entering his tone instantly, "DON'T TELL ME THAT!"

"Why not? It's the truth, you may be a good for nothing drunk, but you have no reason to blame yourself." He responded reasonably, and appeared unaltered by the man's yelling.

"Isss my fawlt, I did it, I killed herrr. I hurt youu." The man replied, his tone becoming weepy again.

"You saved me dummy." Vic softened.

"Do you hate me?"

"I could never hate you," He smiled lightly, sitting on the ground next to the man, "You're all I have left Dad."

**13. Toujours Seul, mais Jamais Laissé Seul : **(Always Alone, Yet Never Left Alone)

"Kori!" Kaylea screamed from up the stairs. Kori winced as heard her sister's mouth create the high pitched noise.

"Yes Sister?" She called back, in a less controlling tone. She was in the kitchen pressing a wet cloth of cold temperature against the purple marking on her cheek, which Jinx had told her was a bruise. When Kori had inquired the girl with pink hair had looked at her quizzically and spoken the answer as if it was a question. Kori was quite happy to have another person in the world who would speak with her.

"Get up here!" Her sister screeched.

"I am coming!"

Kori raced up the staircase leading to Kaylea's room as quickly as her long legs would allow, she knew her older sister would not be any more pleasant if she was slow in her arrival.

When she reached her sister's room she realized that it was empty. Kori had a notion of where Kaylea was. She went to the other side of the large house to her room and found Kaylea pulling things out of her closet, which was big enough for one to walk in and be not be uncomfortably squished.

Kaylea seemed to be in a desperate search for something, though Kori was not sure of what. Her sister looked very beautiful as she always did. Her dark hair billowed down her back, shiny and soft. She wore a sheer, dark blue lace top, exposing her undergarments and tight black pants a little too low on her hips. Her eyes were darkened by the 'make-up' and she by all means looked superior to Kori herself, who was only wearing jeans and a pink of the shoulder top.

It was a normal occurrence that Kori felt the insecurities when looking at Kaylea, Kori was after all the inferior sister.

"Hello Sister, may I ask why you are in my closet?"

"Kori, what took you so long? Daydreaming again?" Kaylea sneered, "As if you're not stupid enough, you can't even speak English. Why the hell didn't you come earlier?"

Kori did not respond to her sister's insults and only said, "I thought you were in your room, not mine."

"Whatever," Kaylea said waving her off rudely, "Where's that Hermes bag Mom bought you?"

"Why do you need to know this information?" Kori inquired suspiciously.

"Because I want it," Kaylea answered simply with a flip of her hair.

"Well I do not think I should tell you then, for it is a gift Mother presented me with. She gave you the Bag of Chanel, did she not? Can you not use that one?" Kori reasoned with a smile plastered across her face.

"Are you that dumb, airhead? You think that purse will go with this? No, I didn't think so, now hand it over!" Kaylea demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"Kaylea, I do not want- " Kori was cut off by her sisters hands pinching her bruise, she cried out in pain and tears filled her eyes.

"Did you not hear me clearly?" Her sister smiled maliciously, "Hand. It. Over."

"It was a present from Mother, it is important to me." Kori protested, her face still stinging, "We do not see her and Father often and their gifts are special."

Kaylea grabbed the bruise again; this time pinching harder, Kori fell to the ground, "Fine I'll take something else." She rummaged through Kori's things "Oooo Michael Kors!" When she had found enough from Kori's closet she headed for the door.

"Sister, I wish to apologize for what just happened, I do hope you understand-"

"Save it for someone who gives a damn Kori, I don't need your sorry, I don't need you, and I never will, so just save it ok?"

"Kaylea, you do not understand what I mean."

"Actually you don't. You don't understand anything, while you were busy travelling the world with that idiot Galfore, thinking that life was perfect and you could have anything you wanted, I came here, I learned things. Things you're too brainless to understand. You think that everyone is good and no one will hurt you, newsflash bitch, people are cruel. People will hurt you, you may hate me for this, but I'm just preparing you for what life is like since you've been living in the clouds your whole life."

"I have not." Kori whispered, her head facing the ground. Kori's face was burning with shame as tears slipped from her eyes. She could not understand why her sister hated her so much, why she must be put down in order for her sister to feel triumph. Kori did not hate her sister, as Kaylea had just assumed. It was the opposite, she loved her, and that was why it was difficult for Kori to hear her sister say such things to her.

"Keep telling yourself that Princess." Kaylea sneered, her eyes glinting.

"I really haven't, I promise." She replied shakily.

"You say you cherish what our parents give you. They buy you things to keep you quiet, they travel because they can't stand you, because you were the family mistake!" Kaylea spat.

Kori's eyes widened, "No!" She refused to believe such a statement, it could not be true at all, her parents loved her, they had to. Did not all parents hold high esteem for their offspring?

"Why do you think we are only 10 months apart? Because you weren't supposed to be born, that's why. Mom and Dad wanted me; you were just an unpleasant surprise. That's why Galfore raised you, because they never wanted you." Kaylea let the last four words hang in the air for a moment, she then left leaving Kori with only one word stuck in her mind,

_Mistake._

**14. Gardez Votre Tête Vers le Bas si Vous Voulez Survivre : **(Keep your Head Down if You Want to Survive)

Jinx was supposed to meet Gizmo over an hour ago, that little bug took too long to finish the job. She was stuck in the middle of this alley for as long as Gizmo felt like making her wait. Where was he? It was way late and Jinx's patience was wearing thin.

She knew that she should have just done the dirty work herself but her detention left her with a little too little time than she would have liked. Jinx had considered skipping and not bothering with being in a room with Rachel Roth for hours on end without being allowed to cave her face in. She also however didn't have an IQ in the single digits. Jinx had a gut feeling that creepy ass vice principal wasn't lying when he said he'd call the police, she could handle the cops without being caught, but she was a little too damn tired of running. Gizmo, Mammoth, Seamore and everyone else were not people she would find in just any town.

It wasn't because she thought them exceedingly adept in their… skillsets. All Jinx needed to do to find anyone better was take the bus to Gotham and she'd find people the second she left the bus. It was the simple fact that people in Gotham would drop you like a hot potato once they found somebody else who could smuggle more crack than you. Gizmo and her gang wouldn't do that. Not because they were friends, but because they couldn't afford to lose anyone. Not in this city.

Now Jinx was seriously considering just leaving, she couldn't stand being stood up, if they had stood her up she'd find some way of making them pay. Whatever Gizmo was doing had better be worth it.

Just as she thought this, somebody tugged her straight pink hair. Jinx supressed a squeal and whipped around to see who had touched her, she breathed a sigh of relief,

"Gizmo! Where have you guys been?" She demanded, "I've been waiting for over an hour."

"Don't get your panties in a bunch you nose picker, I got what we went there for," The short bald boy's eyes glinted mysteriously as he added, "Plus more."

Jinx decided to ignore the rude comment when she heard what he said afterwards, "Did you now?" She shrugged acting nonchalant when she was secretly impressed, "Then let's go, I'm freezing."

Gizmo grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving the alley, "We may not be in Gotham, but that doesn't mean these streets aren't dangerous at night, pee-brain! Take a look!"

Jinx peeked into the alleyway across and one over from them, "Ah." She nodded understandingly.

"Damn straight, Trigon's men are gathering out there. We have to be careful."

"How many are there?"

"Dozens, all scattered about. I tried using my phone to hack into Trigon's systems and figure out where each guy will be and how we can get around the knuckleheads, but all they're data's locked tight. I could do it if I had my computer with me."

"Well that's jolly, seeing as how we need that thing to get back safely, but it's at the base."

"Oh the irony."

"Where are the others?" She asked taking a look around to see if she could spot anyone else with them.

"Sent 'em back." He groaned.

"Guess it's better to have less people with us if we want to sneak around them." Jinx pointed out, then looked out at the streets again, "Seriously they just keep coming."

"If you're referring to those thugs, yeah. That Trigon's got guys everywhere, from everywhere." Gizmo spoke as if jealous.

"Awe Giz, don't get to envious." She fake pouted, "You know we can take 'em."

Gizmo laughed through his nose and asked, "So Jinx, what d'ya say? Wanna give these snot rags a run for their money?"

"Happily!" She smirked, clenching her fists, ready to release some tension in the only way Jinx knew how.

And one could most liking guess what that was.

* * *

It was another hour before Jinx and Gizmo arrived back at their base.

They were greeted by Seamore, Billy, and Kid, and Hive. Jinx wasn't exactly sure of their real names. Then again, they weren't sure of hers either. When they met they agreed they were putting their pasts behind them and changed their names, not legally of course, but close enough. They did it for the sole purpose throwing off anyone searching for them.

They all crashed at Gizmo's place. It was in an old warehouse that the former heating company had obviously forgotten about. They'd been living there since before tenth grade and they hadn't froze to death in the winters. It wasn't perfect, it was messy, run down, and looked like it was going to fall apart at any moment, but it was comfortable… in most respects.

"How much did you guys get?" Jinx asked as she peeked into the bag Gizmo held.

"Enough cash to set us up for months and extra for any crap you greedy fuzz-nuggets want." Gizmo sneered.

"Sweet!" Billy cried out, pumping his fists in the air.

"Enough for some stuff for my eye?" Seamore asked sceptically as he pointed at his black eye, courtesy of Rachel.

"Puh-lease!" Gizmo scoffed, "How little do you think of me? Of course there's enough!"

"Shut up, I'm hungry." Mammoth, the large bearded teen said in a deep voice. His intelligence wasn't exactly on par with the average person, but his brute strength outweighed his idiocy.

"We'll be dining pretty fine tonight!" Billy cried, holding out a pack of beer.

"Sweet!" Seamore cheered, everyone following his reaction.

Jinx snatched a bottle and smiled.

But somewhere inside, she felt a pang of guilt.

**15. Un Étrange Paire : **(A Strange Pair)

"Garfield, get off the video games." A stern voice spoke.

Gar sighed sadly and slumped his shoulders as he lay the controller to his Gamestation on the carpet of his room. "C'mon Steve, I'm really close, I'll be down for dinner in like, two seconds." He reasoned. Gar was a couple rooms away from finding the key to the Boss' Chamber and he really didn't want to stop quite yet.

"Honestly Garfield, I do not care. Rita and I are waiting and our supper is getting cold." Steve replied and turned towards the door, if you don't come now I will throw away your share."

Gar bit his lip, "Coming." He said submissively. Gar's newest foster father was usually like that, he never compromised and ever since he got the news of Gar's punishment he was even worse than he was before and seemed to detest his foster son's presence more than ever.

When the two reached the bottom of the stairs Gar saw his foster mother, Rita, in the kitchen, placing items on the table. "Hello Gar, I made your favorite!" She smiled brightly.

Gar liked Rita. She was nice, genuinely nice. Not just 'cause he was a foster kid, but he actually thought that in the few months he'd been with the couple, that Rita actually liked him. She was pretty young, only about 30 or so, but she had a very motherly quality too her, something that Gar hadn't had in a foster parent in a long time.

"More tofu?" Steve asked disdainfully.

"Oh, come on Steve, sit down. Tofu isn't so bad." Rita answered gently, patting the man's chair at the table.

The man complied and sat along with Gar. Rita began to serve the food and Gar had to stop him from drooling. Rita made the best tofu. He couldn't wait to sink his teeth into his food.

The only thing about dinner that Gar didn't like was that it was Steve's prime time for nit picking at Gar.

_Three, two, one._

"So how was your detention."

_Right on schedule._

"Steve…" Rita began warningly.

"No, I'm just curious." He insisted, putting a fork of food into his mouth casually.

_Sure you are. _"I know that," Gar lied convincingly, "It wasn't too bad."

"I didn't get many details from Rita." He continued smoothly, "Want to tell me exactly what happened?"

_Dude, do you not wonder why she didn't tell you? _"There was a fight. A friend and I tried to break it up." He spoke simply, trying to leave as much out as possible.

"Yes, Rita told me. You ended up fighting though."

_Sounds like you know a lot more than you said. _"Dude, it's called self-defence."

The atmosphere in the room was getting tenser by the second. Gar looking at his foster father with resentment, Steve staring at Gar with judging eyes, Rita sat in between the two uncomfortably.

"So… who was involved?" He asked.

This time Gar spoke his mind, "I honestly I think that the only reason this is your business is because I was involved. Other than that, it doesn't concern you. So I won't talk about other students personal lives, thank you."

Steve was speechless as Gar continued, "Anyways, knowing you, you already know who was involved. So why ask Steve."

The two seemed shocked at Gar mini-speech. For a kid who was the way he was, silly and senseless, what he had just said was very much out of Gar's usual character.

_C'mon Steve, what else do you have to say?_

"Yes Garfield, I know who was involved." He admitted, "I have one question, why would you and Victor Stone risk your permanent records to break up a fight between Rachel Roth and Jinx, whatever her last name is? Victor should have known better and warned you that those two are beyond help. Once that Wayne bitch got involved, you and he should have run from the hills."

"Excuse me?!" Gar cried, standing from his seat abruptly, "How is this Vic's fault? He was doing what was right. If we had let that continue, those two would have been arrested! If you're going to keep criticizing me and my friend, I'm not hungry!"

Gar started to leave, "Gar, wait!" Rita called out to him.

Gar came back and grabbed his plate, "Thanks for the food Rita." He mumbled, "And sorry."

He then left, the last thing he heard was Steve saying to his wife, "He's over reacting, that kid can't admit when he's wrong. If he wants to be a part of this family he needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut."

_How many more people are going to tell me that?_

**16. Ceux Qui Craignent Cacher Dans l'Obscurité : **(Those Who Fear Hide in the Darkness)

Rachel sat up in her room, behind her bed, in the corner of her room. She meditated silently repeating the chant, _Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos._

It was late, or early if you wanted to be technical, and Rachel was attempting relaxation. The day had been trying, it had been difficult, and Rachel was exhausted. She was alone in a dark, lonely house, which would creep out most people. Rachel however craved the solitude and was relieved to at last be alone.

She knew that it wouldn't last very long, she suspected her father home in less than an hour. She had calmed her dread down with her meditation long ago, so Rachel no longer feared what would come. Her father wasn't a patient man; he wasn't a good man either. It was only natural that Rachel would take after him almost exactly. The whole detention, fight thing proved just that.

_Azarath, Metrion, Zin-_

Rachel was cut off by a slam of the door, her eyes shot open and she once again was brought back to her surroundings, out of her meditative state. "Father," She mumbled knowingly, breathing in.

She could hear her father bumbling about, making a big scene. Once she might have wondered what he was doing down there, but she no longer was curious or concerned for her father. Even though he was supposed to be scary, which he was sometimes, he was becoming more annoying than anything. The noise was loud and unnecessary. Just like he was.

Over the years Rachel had learned not to disturb her father when he was in a mood such as this and just wait it out. Doing otherwise caused problems that could have easily been avoided. She only could hope that he wouldn't seek her out in his rage.

"RACHEL!" Her father's voice boomed from the lower floor up to her room.

_Well that's just wonderful._ She thought sarcastically, getting up from her position and climbing over top her bed, following her father's call.

Rachel walked calmly down the hallway and towards the stairs. She felt her father's presence in the dining room and when she reached the bottom of the stairs Rachel adjusted her direction towards that room.

The first thing Rachel's eyes saw was her father standing right over her. Someone else of her height would have been extremely intimidated by a man of his height towering over them. Instead of doing this, Rachel started at him with cold, calculating eyes and held his gaze bravely.

"How was work today?" She asked.

"It was fine; we gained what we set out for." He replied in a deep voice, his eyes still locked with hers.

"Don't you always," Rachel spoke absently. She hoped he'd just drop the subject and leave her be for the rest of the night.

Her relationship with the man was strange. As a child he didn't bother with her much and had left her mother to care for her most of the time. Her dad wasn't a natural with children, that was what her mother would tell her when the little 6 year old would ask why her own dad didn't spend any time with her. That may have been true, but it became apparent that he wasn't a natural with teens, or adults, seeing as Rachel would be 18 in only 2 months and they still had yet to have a normal conversation.

Rachel knew that her father loved her, in his own twisted and perhaps sick way, and that wasn't just Rachel thinking unrealistically hoping for a loving father. It really was a logically based conclusion, as all of the girl's conclusions were. Rachel knew the sort of man he was, and he wouldn't have kept her for 18 years if he didn't love her in some way.

There was a long pause in the conversation, if you could even call it that. Rachel showed no weakness towards him and still held his gaze, almost defiantly. Until her father finally spoke,

"Fight me."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said."

"Yes, and if it weren't for the fact I don't smell liquor on you, I would think you were intoxicated." Rachel said matter of factly.

"Observant," Her father noted, "Only a daughter of mine would be so. No, I am not intoxicated, is it not normal for one's teacher to test their student's progress?"

Rachel looked away.

"I expect since you got in a fight yesterday and was on par, if not better, than that Wayne boy, you aren't exactly rusty." The man laughed dangerously despite his hushed tone.

"I suppose you're right again." Rachel replied, inside she was nervous though, she hadn't fought him since he had stopped his lessons with her. Fighting was the only thing they did together from the time she was four until she was fourteen. He was brutal, but she did become equal to a 3rd degree black belt when she was 10, and had only gotten better since. Before it had been something to prove her worth to her father, now it was the only defense she had when she went out at night.

"Then let us begin." He said darkly, backing away as he got in a ready position.

"Alright, fine." She replied with a similar tone, pulling up her hood slowly. Her father smirked as she did this, eager to begin.

He made the first move, swiftly pulling the carpet from underneath Rachel in an attempt to knock her to the ground. She had guessed her father would play dirty like that; she jumped up right as he pulled and swung her feet across his mid-section. He caught her foot and twisted; Rachel stifled a cry and used her other leg to quickly kick his hand off her foot.

Due to the fact both her feet were up in the air. She dropped down and before falling on her back she caught herself with her hands and swung her legs up to get to her feet, hitting her father in the jaw in the process.

He obviously wasn't happy about this and Rachel could tell that up until know, he was toying with her. She knew that he wasn't going to underestimate her again, and that he'd go all out.

Suddenly Rachel found herself the victim of her father's fast paced barrage of attacks, and for the first time in her life, she was matching them hit for hit, blocking them, and making the man in front of her sweat. Something she never had done before. It went or for what seemed like hours, when in reality it was probably only about twenty minutes.

However before she knew what was happening, Rachel was pinned up against the wall with her father's forearm over top of her neck, cutting off her airways, making her make a gagging noise. As he spoke she struggled to breathe, "Never let your enemy corner you Rachel. You've gotten soft, so I take it back, you are rusty."

His comment would have caused Rachel's blood to boil, had she not meditated beforehand. instead she calmly kicked him… in a sensitive male area. It was low, but not as low as asking an eighteen year old girl to fight a thirty eight year old man practically twice her height.

He cried out in agony and Rachel grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up from the floor, "You were saying?" She inquired, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She let him go, dropping her to the floor. When she turned away, her father swiped his legs, tripping her and got up quickly, "Not bad Rachel, but you'll have to do a lot better than that." His eyes were glinting cruelly.

He then proceeded to attack Rachel as she was defenceless, the second she regained her senses she began to block his punches, though it was all in vain. A fist connected with her stomach and blood spurted from her mouth, her eyes widened while she wiped her lip.

Before she could recover, Rachel was kicked into the dining room table. It broke from the impact and she was left lying on the floor, a searing pain in her back caused her to wince, she touched her forehead and when she observed her hand it was stained a slight tinge of red.

Her father did not help her up, he didn't ask her if she was alright, he didn't show any concern for her at all, however much Rachel might have wanted him to.

All the man said to her before he left for his room was, "You did good Rachel."

Rachel hated the feeling of pride and happiness that came over her when she heard those words.

* * *

Second chapter. Woot.

I really did plan for this to come out earlier, so I am sorry for the almost lateness. I kept writing and rewriting the chapter and even now, I really am not happy with it. I did however need to finish it so I may edit it eventually.

This chapter is sorta meant for a tiny peek into each of the character's lives, without giving everything away. I really didn't mean for it to be so bad. AUGH! You guys don't know how much I dislike this chapter.

For those wondering, yes Alfred is a door opening, butler doing, key stealing, ninja. (meaning yup, he totally snatched Richard's keys without him noticing)

Richard hates Kori… 'cause she distracts him. Hmmmm?

Vicky and his Papa have a little heart to heart, even if his father won't remember it when he's sober. I hope I left a little bit of mystery with that section of the story.

Poor Kori, why does no one like her? I am not too familiar with Kori's complete backstory so I'm kinda improvising. Kaylea's a piece 'o work eh? Kori has amazing self control to not tackle that girl to the floor.

I love Jinx. I love writing her character. Her part was probably my favorite part of this chapter. I enjoy writing a bad type character that has a little mouth on them. I probably don't do it very well, but I do love it. I honestly cannot wait to write her next part.

Gar was so OOC in this, I apologize! Virtually kick me, punch me, I will accept it gracefully.

Some may notice that at some times Rachel says she does not have two shits to give about what her dad thinks, then at the end she is desperate for his acknowledgment. I did mean for her to contradict herself, I'm not as inconsistent as you may think. Her and her dad's fight was not my best piece of writing.

Thank you for the very positive response to the first chapter, I did not expect such nice reviews. To anyone who praised the story… so really are awesome and you have no idea how much it meant to me.

And to answer a question for R Wolf, who by the way was my first review EVER!

All the names I used were the characters original names. Beast Boy's name was Garfield Logan, Cyborg's was Victor Stone, Robin's was Richard 'Dick' Grayson. Starfire called herself Kori Anders as her name on earth, Raven was known as Rachel Roth when she went to high school in the comic series. For the most part they're as close as I can get to real names without there being a random kid in the school names Beast Boy. I almost used the name Dick instead of Richard, can't really remember why I decided against it, but I've already started it with Richard so I will be continuing with that name.

Thank you for the translation suggestion. I did use it and hope it makes it easier for you. (Though I can't promise that they are 100% accurate)

If there are typos... feel free to point them out, I know they're there somewhere.

**POLL:**

Should I shorten my chapters? I find them kinda long. If so how many words?

A) Yes, shorten them, maybe about 6000 words a chapter

B) Yes, shorten them 6000 words a chapter

C) No, do not shorten them, I like long chapters

D) I don't care, write as much as you need to so you can fit what you need

E) Other (Let me know)


	3. Week 1: Second Day

**17. L'Esprit est une Forêt se Perd Facilement Dans **(The Mind is a Forest Easily Lost In)

Richard sat at the large and empty dining room table. It was long and extravagant, obviously meant for a large dinner party. Right now it was only Richard; he ate his food in silence. For any normal person it would be considered a meal that would be eaten once in a blue moon. For the Wayne Manor, it was a regular occurrence. One that Richard Grayson refused to take for granted. He may have been forced into this life, this game, and was still unable to escape, but that didn't mean he would play by their rules or conform himself to their lifestyle.

However at this very moment Richard realized how strange his life really was. The room was big and spacious enough for his voice to echo, yet no one else was with him. It was a strange feeling; he hadn't eaten in this room in ages and hadn't ever eaten in it alone. He couldn't describe what exactly it was like until a few words popped into his head.

_One never feels the full extent of loneliness until they are somewhere normally inhabited by groups of people, and they are the only living soul to be seen._

He raised his eyebrows as he thought this.

_Deep._ He was surprised that he would come up with something like this on his own. He supposed that when he was by himself he contemplated things in strange ways.

Despite what a lot of people, scratch that, all people thought, Richard was a thinker. He may not have gone to school often, or appeared to be a smart kid, but he thought. He got lost in thoughts constantly. To the point where he would ponder things for hours on his own, overthinking people, events, and the past, to the point where it was unhealthy.

Richard was a serious guy. It was just the way he was. There wasn't much anyone could do to change that.

The memories of the previous day still played back in his head. His head had cooled off slightly, but was still warm enough to make him feel bitter towards the day as a whole.

He eventually finished his meal, but didn't move for a while. His forehead was pressed against the table and in his hands.

"Hungover?" Alfred asked. Richard inwardly jumped at the butler's sudden appearance, but showed no signs of fear in his face.

"No Alfred, not this morning," He mumbled into his hands. He didn't look up at the man and just stayed in his current position.

"Good, although I am slightly disappointed that I cannot purposely make a ruckus only to hurt your head."

"Ha ha." Richard deadpanned, "Sorry to have ruined your fun."

"Perfectly alright, I shall find another way to amuse myself." He spoke in a thick British accent.

Richard got up slowly, "How 'bout giving me the keys to my motorcycle?"

"I'm afraid that is out of the question."

"Damn."

"Yes, I believe that 'damn' would be the right word. You will receive the keys again, perhaps by the end of the week. Until then you will be using your two legs and walking."

"I'm still wondering how you got them without me noticing." Richard said absently, looking out at nothing in particular. His chin rested in his hand as he thought.

"You think too highly of yourself Master Grayson. You seem to forget that I work for Bruce Wayne, and I have to deal with you. One would have to have a few tricks up his sleeve to in those conditions."

"Ooooo mysterious. I'm so impressed."

"No, not really, it is only the truth." Alfred said with a very slight shrug, "I do hope that after your little run in with your adoptive father you are going to your detention session today. You've already missed most of school."

"Might, might not." The teen replied noncommittally, "When have I ever actually followed this house's rules?"

"Out of the almost 8 years I have known you… never."

"Exactly,"

Richard smirked slightly, as much as he hated the butler, the banter the two sometimes engaged in was pretty amusing. He'd known Alfred since he was about 9, when he had first come to live with Bruce Wayne. It hadn't taken Alfred long to realize that Richard was not going to listen to him, and it hadn't taken Richard long to realize that Alfred Pennyworth really liked to screw with him.

Since each of them had come to the understanding that Richard would disobey and Alfred would mess with him in an obnoxious, superior sort of way and that neither were going to change, things between them had become almost bearable. Almost.

Had Alfred not been so loyal to Bruce, Richard might not have disliked him so much.

"I suppose you aren't going to tell me what exactly happened before the VP caught you."

"You suppose right Alfred."

"I _am_ usually right."

"Cocky." Richard scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Perhaps, but I think if you had told Bruce the full story he would not have found it necessary to take your keys." Alfred remarked casually.

"If you're trying to get me to tell you what happened it isn't working." Richard muttered under his breath as he stared at the wall across from him, a scowl spread across his face.

"I thought pouting was something that you had outgrown, it appears that in this one instance I am wrong." Alfred said. Richard could pretty much hear the taunt in the statement though Alfred's voice betrayed nothing.

"I wasn't really involved with it initially, but this kid in my class who is so annoying he makes me want to put a gun to my head was trying to stop the fight. Long story short, he bumped into me, I got mad, joined the fight."

The look Alfred was giving him just made Richard regret telling him this.

"Well Master Grayson I was hoping for something a little different, but that's fine."

"Whatever Alfred, just leave me alone."

"Good afternoon Master Grayson."

Richard would never tell Alfred this, but he felt horrible for what he did. He been elusive about whether he'd go again today, but he had every intention to go to the detention. Richard didn't know why he was going to, he just felt like he should.

* * *

_Was the walk to school always this long?_ Richard thought as he walked. He hadn't travelled by foot to school for a long time; his bike had always been his means of transportation.

He wasn't focused and he felt pretty stupid, usually his mind was set on one thing. Today it was all over the place, jumbled and unorganized.

The thoughts varied from the detention itself, why he was in it, what he'd said to Bruce the day before, to Kori. And he had no idea why the hell his mind kept drifting towards this girl. If he wanted to be technical, he didn't even know her. It was obnoxious and distracting.

Kori smiled too much and got up in everyone's business. Why was she even in detention? She hadn't done anything wrong. Richard may not have liked any of the people in that room, but fairness and some sense of justice had always mattered to him. Mr. Wilson did not seem like a man to pass justice.

Kori Anders didn't get a shrivel of fairness that day. As much as Richard hated to admit it, Garfield Logan and Victor Stone didn't either. He did dislike both of them, but that had nothing to with the fact that they weren't exactly at fault. That bastard of a principal didn't hear any of them out.

As the teen looked up at the annoying puffy and cheerful clouds he realized something. He was no more innocent than that Jinx girl. He did deserve the punishment. Richard acknowledged that, he really did.

It still didn't make sense to him. If he was so focused on the justice of others, why was he so damn guilty of so many things? What possessed him to behave the way he did? He hated seeing people treated badly, yet he treated people the way he did.

_Pretty fickle huh? _He thought casually to himself with his hand resting in his pocket, _Aren't I the hypocrite? Richard Grayson is a hypocrite. I guess that doesn't come as much of a surprise. _

Richard put these thoughts out of his mind for only a moment until he saw that the school was right in front of him.

_Well there you go. That went by quickly._

He looked at the clock on his phone. What should have taken a half hour took Richard a full period of class to get to school.

He really did get too lost in his thoughts.

**18. Tuer Curiosité le Chat **(Killing Curiosity the Cat)

The first thing Kori had observed during that school morning was that Rachel had an additional wound on her forehead. It appeared to have been cleaned and had left a medium sized mark that was tinged a dark red across her forehead. It surprised Kori that Rachel had not bothered with applying a bandage on the gash.

Kori had not known Rachel very long but she was concerned for her peer. There was something that she was keeping hidden from the public, Kori could not call it anything but an instinct but she was almost sure that whatever it was, it was nothing that brought her good fortune.

The second thing she noticed was that Rachel was quite stiff. It wasn't extremely obvious to the eye but Kori realized she was not as graceful as she normally was and seemed quite rigid.

Kori was tempted greatly to inquire about her condition. She could feel 'the itches' to know what the cause was. Kori almost did but before she went up to ask her classmate she recalled what her guardian Galfore had told her.

There was a cat, and its name was Curiosity. Or its friend called Curiosity killed it. Or it was hit by a car. She couldn't quite grasp the memory, but there was a cat. Kori liked cats.

So she didn't ask Rachel. It was very difficult. Kori felt like the cat, Curiosity, or its friend named Curiosity. She didn't think that she'd kill anything though like the cat's friend did. No that she began thinking about it Kori didn't think that she liked Galfore's tale. It did not make her feel happy.

Kori now sat in her The Class of English. Still not understanding anything the instructor spoke of.

Richard had not shown up for The Class of English and it worried her just as much as Rachel's fresh wound. Should he not show up Mr. Wilson would call the police and they would all be in a big amount of trouble. Kori pondered at where he could be. It was strange at how much she had thought about him since three days earlier. Ever since he had spoken to her at lunch, he was a frequent character in her mind.

It was quite a strange prospect that so much of her head was filled with one person. A person who Kori hardly knew him, in fact she did not understand Richard at all. He was almost as mysterious as Rachel was. She did not like that he was in her head as much as he was. It made her feel uneasy and confused.

It was not as though Kori disliked Richard, in fact it was very much the opposite. He seemed to be the sort of person Kori would like to get to know better. There was something about the way he seemed to hate everything and everyone made her want to know why, and how she could change it. Kaylea called that aspect of Kori's personality 'overly optimistic' and 'stupid' but Kori did not see how that could be. If she could help someone it was worth her time, she did not think sh could be convinced otherwise.

The class was almost over and the educator had dismissed the group to speak with each other before the bell rang. So that left Kori alone, sitting in her desk as the others stood around conversing and laughing amongst themselves. Her hands were folded in her lap and she stared intently at them.

"Kori?" A voice asked.

Kori looked up and saw Gar's face grinning down at her. His brown hair was ruffled and his green eyes sparked happily.

"Friend Garfield!" She replied, excited to have someone speak with her. The past few days had brought many people to Kori, many people who would actually talk to her. First Victor, now Garfield.

"Please, Garfield is weird, Gar is fine." He laughed, "I hate when people call me Garfield."

"Then I shall not call you by that name Friend Gar. You are coming after school, yes?"

"Yeah, if I didn't Steve might kill me. Trust me, you don't wanna see that guy mad, he's freaky." Gar said as he scratched the back of his head, "Anyways, you and Vic will be there to protect me from Rachel, Jinx and Richard's wrath. If you two weren't coming, I'd probably be dead by now."

"I do not believe that they would kill you Friend Gar, you are a very kind boy. Why should they wish you dead?" Kori spoke innocently, "I certainly would not like it if you were, you are a glorious friend anyone would be lucky to have."

"Awwwweee!" Gar smiled, "You really don't mind me?" He seemed to be very pleased with her previous words, Kori noted.

"Why should I not mind a person who treats me fairly with much enthusiasm? I rather like having others like that around me."

"You don't mind my jokes eh?" He said narrowing his eyes mischievously, "Well how 'bout this one? Knock knock?"

"I do not understand Friend Gar, to what are you knocking on?" Kori questioned putting her finger to her chin and tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"You've never heard a knock knock joke?" Gar cried in disbelief, "Dude, I have _got_ to teach you!"

Kori's eyes widened in anticipation, she did so very much wish to learn the art of a knock knock joke. It must have been something amazing, something brilliant. "Please do teach me, I am extremely curious!"

Gar brightened up at this and his posture visibly straightened when Kori made her reply. She wondered silently to herself if this was one of Gar's first offers of friendship since he got here. He only began his schooling here a few days ago, so he couldn't have met many people.

"Alright here we go! It's called a knock knock joke because I'm knocking at your imaginary door. When I knock you ask who is there." Kori giggled inwardly due to how serious Gar was as he explained this to her, "I'll answer, and then repeat what I said, then ask who. Then I come in with the punch line."

Kori tensed at the word punch, she had already been hit this week, she did not wish to have the event occur twice.

"Don't worry there isn't an actual punch."

"Oh, then I think I comprehend the concept of 'The Knock Knock Joke."

"Then let's try it!" He replied eagerly, "Knock knock."

"Do tell me who is there?" Kori asked from behind the imaginary door, recalling Gar's previous instructions.

"Canoe."

"Canoe who?"

"Canoe give me a hand with our English Homework Kori?"

_What was the joke?_ Kori wasn't too sure, but she thought that she 'ought to laugh because he had taken the time to tell her it. So she let out a loud and hearty laugh.

"Yeaahhhh! You liked it eh?!" Gar shouted pumping his fist in the air. Kori smiled uncertainly, she was glad to make him happy though.

"Friend Gar, do tell me who this Steve is. You mentioned him earlier. Is he a friend of yours?"

Gar stiffed considerably and his face fell. Kori instantly felt guilty, she had saddened Gar and she did not wish for him to hate her after the comment. Again she felt like Curiosity the Cat. Who was Steve? Why did he gain such a negative reaction from Gar? Kori had many questions that she wished she had answers for.

Gar's expression remained unpleasant for a moment longer, he then resumed his previous grin, "Don't worry about it Kori!" He said, his voice was obviously feigning amusement, "He's just…uhhh…some guy. Yeah, just some guy!"

Kori did not like being lied to, but she figured this business was not hers. So she nodded lightly to Gar and gave him a little smile, "I understand you do not wish to speak of the matter, I apologize."

Kori knew that she had finally said the right thing by the mixture of relief and gratitude that dawned on his face. She had done something right. For once in her life she had not messed something up.

They continued talking until the bell rang. Gar walked out of the classroom with Kori as she listened to him tell her about his new game of the video. When they left the first thing Kori saw was Kaylea, her Indigo eyes were glaring at Kori and her new found friend.

Gar noticed this and asked about her.

"I must have my secrets same as you, I shall see you after school Gar," Was her only reply. Gar looked as if he wanted to inquire further but instead he nodded and began to make his way down the hall through the slew of students on their way to class.

Kori put on a brave face and approached her elder sister when she saw Gar had continued far enough down the corridor. "You wish to speak with me sister?"

Her sister flipped her jet black hair, which was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Again she looked stunning compared to Kori. She wore a short black skirt along with a sheer olive green blouse. Kori couldn't dream of walking in heels the height of Kaylea's, Kori was much too clumsy.

"Yeah, sure," Kaylea said waving her off, " I can't believe I have to talk to you during school, but Galfore wanted to pass on a message for him, since he's sooooo busy." Kori winced at her sarcasm, Galfore was her guardian, and she did not appreciate her sister saying such things about him.

"Then what was it he wanted me to know?" Kori said cautiously, she had to be careful around her sister, anything could cause Kaylea's mood to change in a moment.

"Just thought you should know that Mom and Dad are on their way home. They're coming home on Friday." Kaylea's face was much too smug to be considered a kind look.

Kori winced drastically, after what Kaylea had said to her the previous day, the news did not excite her as it once might have. She did not wish to suspect Kaylea of telling only to cause Kori distress, but a small part of her believed it.

Kaylea pushed past Kori in a supiriour fashion with a 'hmph' and Kori was left frozen in position worrying about how she would be able to face the parents who never wanted her.

**19. Les Mots Qui Sont Interdits **(Words that are Forbidden)

If it were up to her, Jinx would not be in this situation. It was pretty damn annoying and she was not in the mood to deal with these five.

They all sat in the locked classroom, sitting in a circle. Rachel sat on the floor holding her knee against her chest, looking just as annoyed as Jinx was. Vic sat on a chair next to Gar, who was also on the floor bugging Rachel again. Richard and Kori sat in chairs and the boys feet were propped up against the desk. Jinx sat next to Vic on top of the desk, she was swinging her legs violently as a sign of her displeasure.

Stupid Kori. Of course she had to make the decision that they all had to be friends and actually do the task the Vice Principal had given them. The foreign girl had suggested actually using the sheet filled with questions to learn more about each other. No one, not even Kori appeared very happy today. Gar was a terrible faker; his smile was so forced it was painful to look at. Richard was quiet, Vic wasn't yelling or joking around with his newly found friend. Rachel's glare was just a little more intense than usual.

Jinx wasn't feeling to well, her head still pounded from the booze she'd had the night before. She counted her blessing that they weren't a very loud bunch this afternoon.

"Alright let's just get this over with." Jinx sighed, breaking the silence.

"What exactly are we doing?" Gar asked sheepishly, "I wasn't really paying attention to Mr. Wilson when he told us."

"Idiot," Rachel muttered causing Gar to look over at her. He wasn't glaring at her surprisingly; he seemed to be more ashamed, like he didn't want her to think lowly of him.

Jinx smirked, little Gar had a case of puppy love as far as she could tell. Poor guy, that bitch wouldn't give him the time of day. It confused her, the fact that Gar could possibly have a baby boy crush on Rachel. Jinx didn't get why. Rachel was Rachel. Anyways, he had no idea what kind of excess baggage Rachel carried with her. Small kid like him wouldn't stand a chance in Rachel's world.

"We're answering questions about ourselves that are on the sheet for the 'test' at the end of the two weeks." Victor explained, "Mr. Wilson will be testing each of us on a random person in this group."

"What happens if we can't do it?"

"All of us are in this hell hole for another two weeks." Richard cut in, his voice was casual but it was obviously a threat. Jinx almost here the 'If any of you screw this up, you won't live past the next two weeks'. Jinx smiled at this, Richard was weird.

"Oh." Gar said simply.

"Shall I read the questions now?" Kori inquired innocently, not aware of Richard's hidden threat. Jinx waved her hand, signaling that she couldn't care less.

Kori read the first question carefully, "Ummm… What is your full name? I shall answer first. My name is Kori Tamarina Anders."

"Richard John Grayson."

"Victor Silas Stone."

"Garfield Mark Logan."

Rachel hesitated and looked to both her sides before saying, "Rachel Azalea Roth."

Everyone looked at Jinx for her to answer, she raised her eyebrows and when she made eye contact with Rachel her expression became dark. It was almost as if Rachel was daring her to tell the truth. Like hell she would, it was none of their damn business.

"Jinx Hayden." She lied, using her name she registered in the school with, "I don't have a middle name."

No one questioned her until Gar stupidly asked, "What about when Rachel called you Ir- OW!" He cried out when Rachel violently elbowed him in the side.

"Shut up." She ordered in a quiet, but firm voice. Gar complied and went silent. Jinx could tell that not one person, except maybe Kori believed that Jinx Hayden was her given name. Vic stared at her curiously, which only angered her more.

"Next question!" Jinx snapped, wanting to escape the various looks she was getting.

"What's your favorite color?" Kori read, struggling to read what was apparently a new language to her.

"This is stupid," Richard complained, "It's a waste of my time. Can we just do this later?"

"I do not believe that is wise because should we all wish to understand each other better, we must go through these questions."

"Ha!" Richard laughed humorlessly, "Knowing your favorite color isn't gonna help anyone understand shit."

"Richard you couldn't understand shit even if you knew everyone's favorite color." Jinx mocked.

"At least I'm not giving shit answers for simple questions." Richard countered with a smug smile, "Seriously who lies about their name?"

"Can it Richie. why am I getting lectured by Wayne's bitch. Oh wait, I know! It's 'cause you think that you can treat people like your butler and do whatever you want like the spoiled, selfish little girl you are." Jinx's comment, though spoken casually, caused Richard's lazy and passive expression to become furious.

"Don't talk about me like you know who I am, that's what got us into this mess." He seethed, "This is all you, you started this. If you thought before you spoke, then that stupid fight never would have happened. I'm not the one who approached someone who was just going about their day and punched their face for no reason!"

He had now gotten up and was standing nose to nose with Jinx. She continued swinging her legs playfully and wagged her index finger in his face, "I wouldn't talk about emotions blinding your feelings if I were you. Who was the one who joined the fight because an innocent guy bumped into him? You were buddy, I'm not so sorry to say." She continued to swing her legs and casually kicked his shin.

He flinched slightly, but otherwise didn't react.

"Really Jinx, relying on physical violence to win a fight? Cute." He said sarcastically, "I wouldn't be worried about me if I were you; I'd focus more on my social skills."

"Says the antisocial guy who can't carry a civil conversation, hypocritical much?"

"Sure I may be a hypocrite, I'm a lot of things, a bastard, a problem, I don't care. I am not however, a liar. Can you say that much?"

They began to argue back and forth, Jinx had to admit he was quite quick witted, he didn't hesitate in his replies. Despite this she was starting to get annoyed, he seemed to get her underbelly every time.

"Hey! Would y'all just stop causing problems? Seriously I will shut both of you up if you don't do it yourselves." Vic butted in, "Believe me; 4 years of football did not leave me a skinny little kid who can't fight a couple shrimps! I will kick ALLLLL of your asses if I have to!"

"Puh-lease Victor, put your money where your mouth is and maybe I'll be scared of your hollow threats!" Jinx yelled back, "You wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"No I wouldn't, but you aren't a fly are you?"

They continued on, Kori eventually attempted to come between everyone, in a desperate attempt to calm them down, but was shot down by Richard much to Jinx's amusement.

Rachel pulled a book out of her bag, which only made Jinx even angrier. Victor was about to throw a punch at Richard when someone who hadn't been heard from spoke up and interrupted the argument.

"Green," Gar said, his voice surprisingly steady.

"Eh?" Every person who was shouting before wasn't shouting now.

"Green is my favorite color." He confirmed.

Jinx noticed Rachel look up at him with a strange look; it was almost as if she were impressed, but not quite.

"Anyone else gonna answer the question?" He asked with a slight tinge of annoyance in his voice.

Jinx understood now. He was trying to stop the fight, in his own wimpish, weird way. The kid could be serious, who knew?

"Mine is purple!" Kori answered eager to have the argument behind them.

It took a moment for Victor to swallow down his pride and say, "Silver."

"Pink." Jinx said with a roll of her eyes.

"Red." Richard grudgingly admitted.

Rachel sighed and muttered, "Blue."

The atmosphere was tense, but not as it had been before. It was weird how with that one idiot saying his favorite color, the entire argument dispensed. Jinx really did wanna give Richard Grayson a knuckle sandwich he'd never forget but she supposed that she could let it go just this once and be somewhat civil. Or at least barable.

No one said much for about a minute; it was an extremely awkward silence. The kind of silence where you seriously wish you could say some crap about the people around you but the moment doesn't really call for it. The silence was broken by Rachel,

"What was the next question Kori?" She asked quietly, running her thin hands through her long hair.

"I will read it!" Kori announced, "What are your hobbies?"

"That's easy! Video games!" Gar cried out, apparently very excited about this question.

"Not surprised." Rachel remarked, not rudely, but with no hint of endearment either.

"I used to play a lot of sports, now I like playing video games too." Vic agreed, Rachel smiled slightly at this. Jinx supposed it was some childhood thing, they had known each other a while, or so she had heard.

"Dude! You should come to my place! I've got a Gamestation and everything!" Gar said, thrusting himself right next to Victor, "Eh, eh? Sound good?"

"We'll talk about it later 'lil man." Victor snickered, "Let's just finish this first."

Jinx was slightly uncomfortable now, how was she supposed to say her hobbies, she didn't really like doing much, she just hung around with Gizmo and everyone else. What they did could hardly be considered hobbies.

"Richard, do you happen to have any hobbies?" Kori asked she bright green eyes seemed much wider than usual. Jinx scoffed inwardly, this classroom had serious potential for some sexual tension. First Gar mooning over Rachel, now Kori was throwing herself at Richard. Jinx knew nothing would come of it, and even if something did, it was way too soon to tell. Anyways, this was too gooey and mushy for her to even think about. Teenage romances did not end well, that much was apparent. It was really strange to see played out in front of her.

"I like riding my motorcycle and training." Was Richard's replied to Kori's question.

"Do tell me what this 'training' is for! I should very much like to know." Kori asked, practically begging. She grabbed his shoulder in her anticipation and when she did Jinx knew that Richard was finished. If Richard was a hot-blooded teenage boy, he definitely wouldn't be able to say no to Kori. Not now at least.

Richard pushed Kori off him, getting him a pout from the girl. "Nothing really, I just like to be prepared."

Jinx snorted.

"Oh yeah, what are your hobbies." Richard growled, still sore about their previous little spat apparently.

"I think I'll lie again," Jinx replied with a sigh, "Most of the stuff I spend my time doing would freak you guys out."

Everyone heads turned towards her in confusion and horror.

"I'm not eating kittens or murdering people in the night, calm down!" She defended, "I just live in a weird part of town that's all!"

That wasn't a lie, she did. A warehouse to be exact, it wasn't the full truth though/

The strange looks dissolved and Kori raised her hand energetically, "Oo! Oo! Me next!"

Vic nodded as a sign for her to go ahead. Jinx was curious as to why Kori was the way she was. For a seventeen year old, she was more like a nine year old. What made a person like that? Kori's naïve and childlike nature couldn't be normal. Even if she was new to the country, that wouldn't make her seem so… underdeveloped.

"I enjoy cooking various dishes in the kitchen at my house. Mustard is my favorite drink and I have it often. I like to pretend that I have a pet worm named Silkie and we spend our time in the park together. I also spend my time playing with puppies, and participating in various holidays from my home country."

She continued but Jinx tuned her out, what a strange girl. No one had the heart to cut her off because of how passionate she appeared. It was kinda cute, but it gave Jinx a headache. When Kori finished she gestured for Rachel to start.

"I like reading." Rachel said simply, her eyes cold and unfeeling.

"Me too," Gar said dumbly, earning him a glare from Rachel.

"I shall read the next question now." Kori decided. Her face visibly fell when she read it, "Who are the members of your family?"

They all fell silent. None seemed to want to speak about the subject. Jinx had made a promise to herself long ago that she wouldn't even touch on the topic, not for anyone.

Richard was angered by the question, and she could see the bitterness radiating of Vic. Gar and Kori were looking at the ground sadly. Rachel's eyes flashed with defiance, refusing to answer the question.

"I think that's enough questions for today." Rachel said shortly. For once everyone agreed.

It was for the moment an unspoken rule,

The word 'Family' was definitely off limits.

* * *

First I apologize. I really do. I know I'm late in updating, I know. I hate excuses, but I'll tell you mine anyways.

My computer broke down the Wednesday before Good Friday, taking my document for this chapter with it. I got a new computer on Monday and have been writing like crazy to get this out. So this chapter is really rushed and kinda horrid, but at least it's out.

More of a look into Richard's character, and I hope it was ok. I promise he's going to get nicer.

Kori and Gar become more aquatinted. Yay for that.

More shall be revealed in the next chapter I promise, you will not be kept in the dark about these guys for too long. Although most of you probably have guessed half of their stories. I can however pride myself in saying that Jinx's story will not be easy to guess.

Thanks for your answers on my last poll. Most of you said to either keep the chapters long or just fit whatever I need in each chapter. This chapter is kinda short compared to the other two but i fit what I needed to say and chapter 4 is going to possibly be longer than the first two were. So look out for that, hopefully I'll have it out by about the 20th.

Have a lovely rest of the week everyone.

**No real poll, just a question. Do you like the story so far, do you have any predictions? I'm curious.**


	4. Week 1: Third Day

**20. Qu'est-ce qu'il ya sous la Surface **(What's under the Surface)

"Yes! Finally it's over!" Gar cried out. Vic had to agree with him, it had been a pretty messed up detention today. After yesterday's awkwardness and arguments, none of them really felt like talking. Well at least Rachel, Jinx, and Richard. Vic, Gar, and Kori just had to deal with the obvious displeasure and discomfort that the other three's attitudes brought.

The six of them had just been let out of the classroom and all were standing in front of the school entrance. Gar had just broken the silence between the group and everyone just looked at him strangely.

The city streets were busy; the citizens of Jump City were all in a rush to get home. Vic wanted to get home as well, so he announced to the six that he was leaving.

"I can give anyone a ride home if they're in the same direction." He looked specifically at Rachel; he knew she lived near him since they had been in the same elementary school district.

"Well, I live that way." Richard said lazily pointing to the right, "So I'll walk thanks."

Vic nodded; he didn't really want to drive Richard anyways. They particularly didn't get along, Vic didn't get why, but they clashed. Possibly because of Richard's somewhat controlling personality, and Vic's stubborn one.

Gar shook his head, "Awe dude I would, but I live that way and I have some errands I have to do for someone and I need to take the subway there. I seriously don't like the subway here, it's creepy and I feel like everybody on it wants to mug me."

Vic noticed Rachel stiffen noticeably. He raised an eyebrow, what was making her so touchy?

"I will accept your offer for a ride Friend Victor." Kori smiled sweetly, "If it is not an inconvenience."

"Alright, one person! Anyone else?" Vic asked as he swung his car keys around his fingers.

"I'm good," Jinx shrugged simply. Vic wasn't surprised; Jinx really hated him and didn't like asking for help. Ever since he'd acted like a jerk on Friday she seemed to hold some sort of grudge on him.

"Rachel?" Vic asked.

"I'm fine Vic. I don't think I'm going home right away anyways." Rachel replied. Vic sighed inwardly; he knew that she would say that. Out of all the years he'd known her, she never had revealed anything personal about herself. He had been extremely surprised when she had said her full name during their little question session yesterday. He didn't know where she lived, or anything of the sort, so he had doubted she'd take him up on his offer for a ride home.

"Ok, if you're sure…" He said trailing off in a way that could allow Rachel to reconsider.

"I'm sure, but thanks I guess." She muttered, then pulled up her hood and headed off in the opposite direction.

"She is so weird." Jinx remarked.

No one said anything. The silence had returned. Without saying another word Richard started walking away, and crossed the street in front of them.

"Have a lovely day Richard!" Kori called out sweetly as she waved enthusiastically.

Vic smirked, "Yeah Richie! Hope it's filled with sunshine and unicorns!" He called out to the boy who whipped his head around the second he heard Vic.

"Richie-poo, make sure you call us when you get home to let us know a big bad man didn't get you!" Jinx cooed.

Gar decided he wanted in on the fun and put his hands to his mouth and said in the highest voice he could muster, "If you ever feel like inviting me over to each other's nails or try on clothes, I'll give you my number! CALL ME 'KAY!"

Richard's face went beet red when he noticed people looking at them and pulling their purses out of Richard's reach. He flipped the three the bird then continued on his way. Vic noticed that Rachel had even looked back to see what was going on. She stared at him curiously and Vic shrugged.

Vic, Jinx, and Gar were struggling to hold in their snickers, so much so that their faces were scrunched up and red from holding their breath. Kori just looked confused.

"Do tell me friends, what is a unicorn?"

The three burst into laughter.

Vic sat in his car with Kori in shot gun. She seemed very occupied as she searched through all the nooks and crannies of his car that she could reach. He didn't really mind, just so long as she didn't break anything. It was funny, like watching a five year old in a candy store.

Kori really was strange; he was surprised he hadn't met her until recently. He knew her sister Kaylea, she was a cheerleader and he'd seen her at a lot of football games he played in. He was pretty sure she might have flirted with him once or twice. Only to be rejected of course, Kaylea Anders rubbed him the wrong way. Even though all his team mates said he was crazy. That passing up a chance to get laid, and with Kaylea, was unheard of.

Vic didn't know, he just wasn't interested. Now more than ever. He had more important and pressing things to worry about than wondering how he could get a girl to sleep with him.

Vic had a hard time believing his ears when he heard Mr. Wilson call Kori by her full name. He never would have guessed that the two were related. He supposed they looked somewhat similar, but they were so different. He definitely preferred Kori's company to her sister's.

"You like the car?" Vic asked as his eyes slightly reverted from the road to Kori.

"Oh very much, I have never seen such an interesting contraption. Did you do this yourself?" Kori asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Yeah, toke me a long time though. Two years of work on this baby." He sighed as he remembered the wonderful nights he spent with his car and not with a girl, "The T-Car was worth it."

"Is that her name Friend Victor?"

"Yeah, no idea why though," He replied, "So where is your place?"

"It is most likely farther than your home I suspect, it is on the street by the large Mall of Shopping." Kori answered.

"Ah, you are farther back than I am. You're in a pretty nice part of town huh? Big house?"

"Yes, I believe my house is quite large. I do not like it however, as I often get lost." Kori admitted sadly, "It is much nicer to live in some house that is not so big, yes?

"I guess it's different for different people." Vic pondered, "I like medium sized places."

"I think the place where you grow up is always the best kind of house." Kori pointed out.

Vic was silent, but nodded in agreement.

"So where is your house's location?" Kori inquired, "I should very much like to know this."

"It's up ahead, in one of the apartment complexes." Vic pointed to his shabby building. Kori's eyes widened, not affected by the run down, somewhat nasty looking apartments.

"What beautiful homes!" She gasped.

Vic raised an eyebrow, "Uhhhh, if ya say so…"

"Do you not think so, the buildings are so old and there must have been so many different people who lived here."

Vic really had never thought of it that way, but he was pretty sure the place wasn't that old. It couldn't have been built more than fifteen years ago; people just didn't take good care of it.

"Is your family home?" Kori smiled, the question had meant well but it caused Vic to stiffen.

"No, I live alone Kori." Vic replied casually despite the sadness that flowed through his body as he spoke.

Kori said nothing and avoided his gaze, "Have I upset you Victor? You seem quite rigid. I apologize if I have."

Vic thought about this for a moment and answered honestly, "Yeah, the question made me kinda sad, but I always get asked that. It's only natural, and you're on of the first people to notice that it affects me. Pretty smart on your part eh? So don't worry about it, you really don't need to say sorry."

"Then I thank you for your understanding. Not many are as kind as you." Kori said quietly, yet with a warm tone to her voice.

"Naw, Gar's pretty sweet. Even though you probably won't believe me, Rachel's not a bad kid. Can't say much for Richard or Jinx though, I barely know them."

"Friend Gar is a very nice person. You are incorrect to think that I would not believe in Rachel's kindness. From what I have seen she does not search for trouble, and dislikes it greatly. I believe that she is put into unfortunate situations that make her the way she is. If I am correct she does not wish for conflict, only contentment as you or me would." Kori stated this with a strange knowledge that Vic would not expect from her.

Her response surprised him. Her observation was insightful and most likely accurate. The fact that she had figured out all this in a few days was amazing. He had known Rachel for most of his life, and hadn't figured out much more than that.

"I've always known Rachel wasn't as bad as people said." Vic agreed.

"Is that why you defend her when others put her up for slander?" Kori lightly smiled.

"You've heard that huh?"

"There is not much that escapes someone who is alone, and can do nothing but listen to conversations she is not a part of." She replied sadly.

"Y'know Kori, if I had known you before last Friday, I would have spoken to you."

"That is nice to say Friend Victor, but would you really have?" Kori asked, almost whispering but not quite.

He thought about it for a moment, would he have really spoken with her, or would he have ignored the lonely girl at the front of the classroom? He didn't know, was he saying it to make her feel better or was he serious about what he had said.

"It is alright, I do not blame anyone who does not speak with me. I understand that most people will not approach others; it is my fault for not talking to others myself. Right now, you are giving me the greatest kindness."

Vic didn't know what that kindness was, and he didn't ask.

"You may drop me off when you get to your house." Kori offered, "I can continue walking."

"At this time of night? Hell no! I'll drive you home, ALL the way home."

"Why? Is it dangerous at 6:15 in the evening?"

"You really should know that out of all the cities you could have moved to, this is a pretty screwed up one. You live in a less crime filled area at least, but at night Jump City is about as safe as a shot gun. The only place I can think of that's worse would be Gotham, my dad lives there. Not a nice city."

"Oh. Then I shall accept your offer for a ride."

"Good, then the T-Car will get you home in record time."

**22. Quand Vous Savez Juste **(When you just know)

Kori sighed happily. What a wonderful, yet unhappy day it had been. It had started quite sad and ended wonderfully. She did so much like Victor. He was ever so good to her, so was Gar.

The prospect of having friends, real ones, in a permanent place was amazing. She knew she would be in America for a while longer and not have to worry about leaving for some time. Kori never would have thought that getting punched in the face was a good thing, but had she not been, Kori never would have met the five people she now knew.

She did hope that the other three would soon become more open to friendship. She did not like that Richard, Jinx, and Rachel seemed unhappy.

In her heart she knew that this situation that they all found themselves in was not pure chance, it must have been fate. Kori knew there was something special about the group, that they weren't just enemies forced into a classroom, they had a bigger purpose than that.

Perhaps that was what Galfore called 'Wishful Thinking' and is was just her imagination coming up with stories but it was much nicer to live in a happy world than a realistic one. At least that was what she believed.

Kori knew that by the end of these two weeks, many things would happen to them. Some may not be as good as she may wish, like her parents' expected visit and the many more fights the six may have, but there would be pleasant times too. The conversation she had with Victor assured her of that when she may have thought otherwise. And left her knowing one thing for sure.

The six teenagers were meant to meet each other.

**23. Un Pas de Plus** (One Step Closer)

Gar walked through the large horde of people attempting to get on the subway. He was still a bit iffy in this city regarding the HUGE crowds of people that walked everywhere. His last foster parents had lived in a much smaller area.

He missed a good seat on the subway and had to stand. He was still slow at getting a decent spot, and the one time he did, he gave it up for an elderly lady who hadn't gotten one.

Gar began to think as he waited for the subway to get going. He smiled at the memory of earlier. Richard was surprisingly easy to embarrass. Gar was pretty sure that the dude hated him for no good reason so Gar took his little bit of revenge by annoying Richard.

He recalled how he Jinx and Vic had laughed over the joke. Jinx wasn't so bad when she wasn't trying to kill people… or whatever. It was funny, he never thought that she would laugh with him; he only thought she'd laugh at him.

Right before the subway was about to move a tall, muscular man who wore dark clothes got up from his seat next to the subway door and stopped the shutting door with his hand. He stopped it for one last passenger, she walked on. Gar's eyes widened as he saw who it was.

Rachel.

When she entered the subway it began to move. The man whispered something in her ear, causing her gaze to harden. He gestured to her to sit in his seat, in a mocking, almost suspicious way. Rachel raised an eyebrow but took the seat anyways.

She sat for a while and Gar stared at her. He hoped it didn't seem creepy, but that guy was freaking him out and he really would rather Rachel not be near him for some reason. She eventually met his gaze and her eyes widened, but only for a moment. In that one second her eyes seemed fearful, almost desperate. Gar almost missed it, but he had seen her face like that once before. After she had hit Kori accidentally, and Gar never could forget a look like that.

It was probably the reason Gar was so… what was the word. He struggled to come up with one. Interested, might be one. Why he was so interested in Rachel. Because in that moment she seemed very human, and not at all like what people said she was.

The look this time only lasted a second and almost instantly turned into a frown. Gar tilted his head questioningly. She responded with a deepened glare. Gar motioned his eyes towards the dude she was with as if to ask what was up with him. Rachel discreetly looked at the man to see if he was looking, when she saw that he wasn't she shook her head very slightly, her eyes blazing. It was an obvious message.

Don't get involved.

The subway stopped when it got to the station. The crowd of people made their way out of the door and Gar had lost sight of Rachel and the man. There were so many people he couldn't tell one person from another.

Gar was pushed back and forth, there were so many people going and coming to and from the subway he would not be able to stop his pace until the crowd thinned out, or else he could get trampled.

All of a sudden a stony voice spoke behind him; he could feel their breath on his neck.

"If you know what's good for you, stay out of this."

"You take me for someone who abandons people, huh Rae?" Gar muttered as he huffed humorlessly, not looking at her.

"No I don't, but I'm warning you, sticking your nose in my business won't benefit anyone." Rachel replied.

"Where's that guy you were with?" He asked quietly, his voice was surprisingly serious.

"Gone, I lost him for a second."

"I hope you know what you're doing." Gar replied.

"I never do, that's the danger. I'd worry about you a bit more, if that guy sees me talking to you…" She trailed off slowly.

"Then I guess you better get back to the dude." Gar sighed.

"…"

"Be careful."

"…Thanks I guess." Rachel mumbled.

He then felt her presence drifting from him; he turned around abruptly and stopped in his tracks.

He caught a glimpse of her long purple hair bouncing up and down as she walked opposite way everyone else did. He watched her for a moment.

She turned around to face him, probably thinking he wouldn't be watching her. She met his eyes, her gaze cold.

Someone in a hurry pushed Gar down to the ground.

"Ugh!" His butt hurt!

He looked up to see if Rachel had seen that display. Through the crowd he could see her.

She smirked slightly, and then may have possibly softened a bit.

Gar's face went a bright red.

_Why am I…? _He thought in confusion, then he realized.

_Oh crap._

The pharmacy was a soooo far from the station, and it was like really far from his foster parent's house. He wished that he didn't have to go on this errand but he didn't want Rita coming around this part of the area.

That was one thing he and Steve agreed on, Rita did not need to be exposed to this kind of thing. Even though she offered to, and Steve and Gar knew full well that she could take care of herself.

The area Gar lived in was pretty nice, not bad but not great. The surrounding area wasn't too wonderful however. There was a lot of crime in the city, just in general and it wasn't something new to people who'd lived there in a long time. Rita had been an officer before she married Steve so she wasn't exactly defenseless but it still was something like a man's instinct that made Gar and Steve want to protect her.

A little bit of time had passed since Gar had seen Rachel, it was about 6:15 and Gar was exhausted. He knew that he had to rest otherwise he'd have a relapse. He might call Rita and see if she could pick him up when he finished. He hoped he didn't have to but he wasn't feeling too great.

He walked through the busy street quietly. It had been a difficult week so far; nothing seemed to be going his way. Richard hated him, Jinx hated him, Rachel hated him. It was his fourth day of school this school and already he had people who didn't like him.

He still wasn't sure about Rachel though, at least what she thought about him. When he first met her in his first class it was obvious she wanted nothing to do with him. There was a part of her that wasn't like that, he was almost sure. She took the trouble to warn him, why would she even bother doing that? She seemed to hate the conflict that went on in the group too.

Gar knew that Rachel was not what people thought she was, but she wasn't what Gar wished for either. He always wished for people to laugh and for people to be happy. It was very plain that she was not happy at all.

Gar still didn't quite understand the… curiosity he had for Rachel. Even though he figured out a tiny piece of it just a bit earlier when he'd seen her smirk/smile at him. He didn't fully get why that chick made him embarrassed or flustered, but he understood enough.

Gar sighed, _I did not mean for something like this to happen. She sure was right, me getting involved does not bring much good._

Even though he knew this he still wanted to make her smile. It wasn't exactly because of what he thought before, that he just wanted a challenge and attention. It may have played a part in how it lead to this mess, but it didn't really apply to his feelings now.

_I am so screwed. She hates me enough._

The pharmacy was just up ahead and was like seeing a pond in a desert.

_FINALLY! _

It was pretty run down, looked kinda sketchy. Some of the lights that labeled the place were burnt out or flickering. There were these funny bars on the windows, probably so no one could fit though them to rob the place at night.

Gar opened the door and the bell above him rang, telling anyone working there that they had a customer. Gar walked through the aisles slowly. It was a weird feeling; it was as if no one was even there. It was strangely quiet and he felt a little funny. It didn't help that he was a little light headed from the exhaustion from the day.

The back counter was empty and when Gar reached it he looked around carefully.

"Hello?" He called out cautiously, "Anyone here?"

A bald fat man walked out from behind the back, he had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, he looked at Gar with disinterest.

"What d'ya want kid?" He asked lazily.

"I came to pick up a prescription." Gar answered, he was pretty used to the staff here, lazy and rude.

"Lemme see it." The man demanded, taking a puff of his cigarette then extending his hand. Gar handed it to him and he read it over, "Hn."

Then the man went into the back and a few moments later came out with a bag, "Here ya go kid."

"…Thanks." Gar mumbled.

He left the store and sighed, he hated places like that. At least it was over and he could go home. All he wanted to do was sit on his bed, with a controller in his hand and tofu in his lap, and play some Gamestation. It would give him some time to rest and Rita wouldn't mind him eating in his room.

As he walked down the street he started to feel a bit nervous, he wasn't sure quite why, but his stomach felt sick. Like he was being watched.

He knew that it was silly, and probably not really realistic, but he couldn't shake the feeling.

As he went through the park on his way to his house he felt it even more. The large willow trees were starting to freak him out. It wasn't that late, but the sun was almost set and he was beginning to wish he'd called someone for a ride.

Then he saw something in the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around; he could have sworn he saw a person in the shadows hiding behind the willow tree next to him.

They were gone. He sighed with relief. _Holy crap that must have been my imagination._

When he turned back around, to his surprise someone stood right in front of him.

"Hey Runt, how's the shithead doing huh?" The guy said.

Gar didn't say anything, he just kept quiet.

"What's up Runt? Too scared to try and fight me this time." The voice mocked, "Then again after last time I don't blame you."

Gar tensed, planting his feet firmly to the ground, even though he was scared, he couldn't let that idiot push him around again. Just because he was about twice his size, Gar couldn't let him do it again.

"Not going to answer, fine. I'll get an answer out of you."

"Go ahead Adonis."

**24. Jeu Déloyale** (Unfair Game)

Rachel had been running when she saw what was happening.

Before she did she had found that stupid man again after her conversation with Gar.

He seriously was getting on her nerves, he amused her mildly. Not by his jokes, but by his stupidity. The way he kept pursuing her and trying to pry information from her was obnoxious. Sure his intentions may have been good, but it wouldn't bring her any peace and it would screw him over.

If he had approached her during the subway ride she would have had no control over what that man would have done with him. If he had found out Gar's name, there would be no telling what he would do to him. And just for the sole purpose of amusement.

It wasn't like she particularly cared for her stupid classmate, but she hated the idea that it would be her fault that another person was hurt… or worse.

Once she had found him she drove him over to her father's place and dropped him off, she was glad that she didn't have to stay. Rachel hated working with her father's clients. It was annoying and made her feel uncomfortable. Rachel hated all of them, she couldn't help those emotions. She wanted nothing to do with any of the people her father worked with, but as far as he was concerned Rachel would always be involved

Rachel had changed into her jogging clothes and headed for a run. The day had tested her, Vic with his stupid way of trying to be helpful; with Gar it was pretty obvious why he bugged her.

Her mind was clearing up as her shoes hit the path, crunching the leaves bellow her that fell from the trees. Rachel panted slightly as she ran and even though she could have gone to a store to grab a water bottle, she had been going too fast and had no intentions of stopping.

When she reached the park that she usually ran through her concentration was shattered when she saw Gar. He was walking through the pathway quietly she hid behind a tree so he wouldn't see her. When he turned, he didn't see her.

_What is he doing out here in the middle of the night? _She thought curiously, she then stiffened as she saw a large figure come up behind him. _Who is that? I feel like I recognize him. _

Rachel couldn't quiet hear what they were saying, but it seemed as if Gar knew him. She crept up closer and from what she could tell, this guy had been messing around with him for a while.

Then she remembered, hadn't they said that Gar had only moved here last week?

How would he know this person so well? She knew it was only an assumption, but Rachel's instinct was hardly ever wrong.

Rachel's thoughts were interrupted when the guy pushed Gar, and grabbed what seemed to be a package from his hands. Then she recognized his face.

It was Adonis, why on earth would Gar be involved with him? Was he that stupid?

Then Adonis grabbed Gar's collar and lifted him up to his feet again, then off the ground.

Rachel knew she should step in, not just sit and watch Gar get beaten. Sadly her moral compass was telling her to go stop Adonis and Rachel felt as if she owed Gar, because she was no better than Adonis. Maybe this would make it up to him after what she had done to him last week.

Rachel walked out from the trees in what she hoped was a confident, almost threatening manner.

"Hey!" She called out, "What's going on here?"

Adonis turned and dropped Gar to the ground. Gar looked at her with shocked green eyes.

"What's it to you girly?" Adonis laughed, "Here to save your little friend?" He strode up towards her casually. Rachel wasn't scared of him though, she could deal with 3 guys twice as strong as him.

"Step away." She deadpanned, staring at him blankly.

"Rachel, stay out of this." Gar cut in, "I don't need your help right now."

"So stubborn," Rachel muttered, then spoke louder, "I'll do what I please Gar."

"But he'll hurt you, he's not afraid to."

"You think I can't handle Adonis? I'm insulted." She said dryly.

Adonis was apparently not too keen on being left out of their conversation so he butt in, "You think that a girl your size could take me? How the hell do you even know my name?"

"I _know_ a girl my size can take you." Rachel said with an eye roll, "And how I know your name is none of your concern."

"Cocky."

"You're telling me…"

"Hey Gar," Adonis spoke, directing his attention to the boy who had now gotten up off the ground, "Y'know you don't have such bad taste. Even if she's a little scrawny, your girlfriend's not too bad looking."

Gar didn't say anything much to Rachel's annoyance so she took it upon herself to defend herself.

"I am not dating him." She glowered at the boy demanding his confirmation and he crumpled under its power.

"Right!" He squeaked, "Never ever."

"Oh ok, then how 'bout letting me finish up here, then I can take you somewhere we can get to know each other." Adonis offered.

Did he just wag his eyebrows?

"Get away from him" Rachel said coldly, ignoring his eyebrows, "And don't even try anything with me."

"Who do you think you are?" Adonis demanded, "I'll do whatever I want to him, and to you!"

He quickly made his way up to Rachel and towered over her. Rachel's gaze didn't waver.

"Adonis, get away from her!" Gar yelled, making a sad attempt to pull him away, only to be pushed, yet again.

"Who do you think you are?" He repeated, louder this time.

Rachel quirked an eyebrow and lifted up the hood on her hoodie. Adonis froze.

"R-Raven!" He stuttered, "I-I had no idea…"

"Obviously." She replied darkly her voice getting drastically lower.

"W-what are you even doing here?" He asked.

Rachel sighed, he was so testing. She kicked herself mentally; she should have thought it through before lifting her hood up and revealing that to him. Now Gar would have a million questions for her after she dealt with Adonis. It didn't really matter now since it was done and she couldn't change it, but it still stuck in her head that she had stupidly made a mistake.

"I really a-am sorry, I-I thought he called you R-Rachel." Adonis pointed at Gar in fear.

Rachel grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him down violently to her face level.

"Yeah, and I better not hear it anywhere else or I will have to bring my father into this." Rachel whispered dangerously, so Gar wouldn't hear, she didn't need him asking questions about her father too, "Got it?"

Adonis nodded, unable to speak. Rachel smirked and released him from her grip harshly. He stumbled back at the force of her push and bumped into Gar.

"Sorry man, I didn't mean it I swear!" He apologized to Gar, handing him the bag he had snatched from him, "I'll leave you alone, I promise."

Gar raised his eyebrow disbelievingly, "Yeah, whatever."

Rachel was silent as the large teen stalked off into the shadows. Deciding she should take this opportunity to leave and avoid any unwanted questions she turned to go.

"Hey Rachel," Gar called out, "I'm not finished with you yet."

Rachel was slightly taken aback by the fact that he didn't sound too pleased. Sure his manly pride would be wounded or whatever, but she really did not need him giving her crap. She wanted to go on a run and let this kid get home.

She turned around and shrugged as if to say 'What is it, please don't waste my time.'

"I don't need you trying to protect me." He stated.

"What of it, you two were disturbing my run." Rachel said simply. As he got closer to her she crossed her arms challengingly.

"Well… um… ok." He mumbled, "But I still want to be able to fight my own battles." Rachel scoffed inwardly, it was very sad that he thought he could do that with those skinny arms.

"I'm sure you can." She said sarcastically.

"Well I guess that makes us even, I interfered with you, you interfered with me." Gar grinned, his expression changing quickly, "Truce?"

"I don't make deals, but I guess we can call it even." Rachel agreed without emotion, "But no truce."

"Deal." Gar smiled.

"Didn't I just say-"

"That you don't make deals, I'll make a deal with you not to make deals." He probably thought his reasoning was something clever.

"Idiot."

Gar laughed, "Do you wanna walk with me?"

Rachel looked at him suspiciously, searching for any hidden intent he may have. When she found none she nodded slightly. She knew it was a stupid choice but somehow she couldn't say no.

It was silent. Neither of them had spoken but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. She was however glad that he had the decency to not ask about what had happened before. He just walked, he didn't even look at her he was just silent. Rachel was pretty sure there must have been something wrong with him, he wasn't talking. That was a first.

He stopped for a moment and turned to look at her, "Ok it's killing me, what happened back there?"

Rachel groaned, just when she thought that he had the slightest bit of maturity too. She did not need this now. She knew she had to turn the question around on him, and it wouldn't be hard too distract him since he had the attention span of a four year old to begin with.

"I should ask you the same thing." Rachel replied coolly.

"Oh, you mean back with Adonis, yeah I guess I do have a history with him." Gar admitted, "Question for a question. I'll ask you one, you ask me one."

Rachel knew it was a stupid idea, she could always refuse his questions, and she did want to know why he lied about moving here. "Fine, but I reserve the right to not answer."

"Sounds good." Gar agreed, and then pointed to a nearby bench, "Wanna sit?"

Rachel complied, and sat down, keeping as far away as possible from him. Gar noticed her action and didn't seem pleased by it, but he said nothing about it. Rachel had no intention of being close to him emotionally or physically, even though it was pretty obvious that he would not object to that.

"So did you want to start or should I?" Gar asked nervously, apparently he was too scared to start without her consent. Was she really that threatening?

"Go ahead." She shrugged.

"What were you doing here tonight?" Gar said without hesitation. He sure knew what he wanted to know. Then again Rachel did too and she wouldn't hold back from him.

"I was on a run. Why were you here?"

Gar didn't seem to be bothered by the question and answered promptly, "I was on my way home after doing an errand. Why did you step in earlier and help me? You don't seem to like me, you could have just left."

"I don't like Adonis; he needed to be put in line." Rachel frowned, making the decision that if she wanted answers from Gar she had to give what sounded like credible answers. She didn't like lying, so she'd tell half-truths. Gar didn't strike her as the type to blatantly lie, and he seemed to be an open book. "How do you know Adonis?"

Gar looked uncomfortable by the question but answered cautiously, "The dude approached me last week and decided I was an easy target. How do _you _know Adonis?"

Perhaps Rachel had been wrong, what he had just told her was a lie. She could not read him as well as she thought. His lying put her off and made her want to break his happy façade, which she had just realized was as fake as hers.

"He lives close by me, and he's always causing disturbances." Rachel spoke carefully, "What was your errand you had to run?"

"I had to pick this up," He said lifting the small bag he held for emphasis. Rachel looked at it for a moment before realizing it was from the nearby pharmacy, "Who was that man on the subway you were with?"

Rachel cursed inwardly, she had hoped he wouldn't think of that, "He was a client of my father's; I was simply showing him the way to my father's workplace. What's in the bag?"

Gar winced and covered it up with a weak laugh, "It's some mediation that I was asked to pick up. If that man was only a client then why did you have to warn me to stay away?"

Rachel answered promptly so he wouldn't suspect she was making anything up, "He isn't a nice man, I dislike him enough without a kid chatting with his boss's daughter and irritating him." And just because he was deliberately lying to her she asked the question, "Who is the prescription for?"

"It's a personal issue in my house that I'm not supposed to talk about. Sorry I can't answer that one."

At least he wasn't telling fibs like before, "Fine, whatever." Rachel muttered, "Guess it's none of my business."

"Dude, thanks for not bugging me about it, I appreciate it." Gar said sincerely, "Now _this_ question really has me stumped though; I'd like to see you get out of answering this one fully."

"Was that a challenge?" Rachel asked curtly.

"Ha! I bet you can't come up with a better question!" Gar mocked.

_I bet I could._ She thought, she was slightly impressed that he was able to see through her weak answers, and that he had the nerve to point it out.

"Go ahead."

"Why did Adonis call you Raven?"

Rachel sighed; she knew this one was coming and she had prepared for it in her head the moment Adonis had called her by that name.

"When I first met him a man who works with my father called me that by accident, it stuck. I guess Rachel and Raven sound similar."

"Oh. That was not the answer I thought you'd give, but I guess it works." Gar shrugged, "Now let's see what you came up with."

"Why did you lie about moving here last week?" Rachel asked stonily. She stared at Gar with cold violet eyes and waited for an answer. Gar almost seemed desperate when she said those words, desperate to come up with an answer. It was apparent that he was not expecting her to figure that out about him and right then Rachel knew she had cracked him. He wasn't going to answer.

"That's what I thought." Rachel got up off the bench and began walking away, then slowly began jogging like before. Slowing letting Gar flow out of her thoughts.

She had won.

**26. La Bataille au Sein** (The Battle Within)

It was late, or early if you wanted to be accurate. Richard hadn't wanted to go home so he stayed out for the sole purpose of avoiding Bruce. Sure it was running away from him problems but at this point he didn't care. All he wanted was to be away from that house and all the people in it.

Richard was pretty sure that tonight Trigon's bastards were hanging around everywhere he turned and that he had better be more on the careful side. Then again Richard had never been a cautious kind of guy; thinking before jumping never really was his thing.

Trigon had always posed a problem for Richard, as far as he was concerned, Trigon was just a power hungry idiot who needed to spend a good long while behind bars.

The mindless drones who worked for him all had Trigon's symbol somewhere on their person. It was kinda hard to miss it, people called it 'The Scath'. To Richard it just looked like someone got creative with a paintbrush, wrote the letter S then splattered around it a bit.

Normally he would have thought it practically suicide to identify yourself in a gang in Jump City. But in Trigon's case, even the police department was scared of Trigon's symbol. It meant 'Stay away, we're dangerous'

Richard never really was too impressed with Trigon or any of them. Even though he tended to be a lone wolf, he could defend himself and take down multiple of Trigon's goons at once.

As he walked he pasted people he knew should have had their asses hauled off to jail, but he walked by them like he would anyone. He had the urge to do something about them, but never did. He wished he could, but being the two faced guy he was he figured that it would be better he haul himself over to the cops and confess the various things he'd done. Richard knew that so far no one could pin anything on him due to his uncanny ability to cover up his tracks.

Richard had decided early today that he was not the only sketchy person in that detention room. He was pretty suspicious of a few of them. Jinx was an obvious one. Lying about her name, her questionable hobbies, her shady relationship with Rachel, all these reasons made Richard think twice before believing anything that girl said.

Richard never really thought about it until he started spending his afternoons with those two, but how did they know each other and how come Jinx seemed to hate Rachel so much when Rachel seemed so indifferent to Jinx.

Rachel wasn't exactly an open book either; no one in that school knew shit about her. Other than the fact that she didn't like people, and as of recent, had a terrible temper. The fact that where she lived, who her family was, and what she did was so well hidden under wraps made it impossible for Richard to not be suspicious of her.

Even Gar and Vic seemed a bit strange; they didn't share anything personal with anyone other than that they were constantly glued to a television or their car. They were perfectly happy prying information about others rather than giving it up themselves.

Kori was the only one who didn't seem to hide everything about herself. Sure she hadn't spoken about her family, but none of them had. She didn't seem to conceal anything else. As much as Richard hated to admit it, Kori's attitude was refreshing. Especially for someone who lived in a house filled with unsaid words, unspoken secrets and hatred hanging above every conversation like a storm cloud.

He missed the true honesty that was formerly present in his life. Richard hadn't witnessed that in a very long time and he hadn't realized that he craved it until it had presented itself in front of him once again, reminding him of what he didn't have, and wanted so much.

Perhaps that was the reason behind Richard's fascination with Kori. He didn't like calling it that but it was somewhat accurate, he hadn't been able to keep the bubbly girl out of his head. After figuring out why he seemed so interested in Kori, he felt a bit better about it. He had thought early on that he was attracted to her, thank goodness that wasn't it. He didn't really feel like being emotionally invested in anyone.

While Richard was walking he heard a noise from a nearby alley. It didn't sound good either.

_What is that?_

He subtly took a right turn towards the noise down the dark alley, untouched by the light of the street posts.

As he followed the noise he heard two voices, one a male. Deep and threatening. Another a woman. She sounded fearful. When he realized what might have been going on he broke into a silent jog, not making a sound as he approached the two figures.

From what Richard could tell the man had the woman pinned up against the wall, he was demanding something from her. She was cowering from the man's height and obvious power over her.

As Richard got closer he saw a patch on the man's arm.

_The Scath. Trigon!_

This man worked for Trigon. And now that he could now hear what was being said Richard knew what he needed to do.

"Hand it over you whore!" The man seethed dangerously.

"I don't I have it, I'm sorry!" The young woman cried, "I swear once I have enough I'll pay you back!"

"Hand it over now or I'll have to find other ways of making you pay your debt."

That was it, that was all Richard needed to hear. He walked up to the man grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him to face him.

"What th-"

"I think you need to step away from her." Richard said darkly.

"Yeah I don't think so kid." The man laughed.

"That was an opinion." Richard replied, "Or a suggestion."

"Who do you think you are, huh?" He demanded.

The woman looked terrified, she was trembling as she spoke, "P-please, just go!"

"This will only take a second." Richard assured her, "Now go!"

Once the man's attention was off the woman she ran off into a busier street, he was furious when he realized she had left.

"You're gonna pay for that kid!" He threw a punch. Richard moved out of the way with ease, so far he wasn't impressed by this guy. He must not have been too high up in Trigon's little world.

This was going to be a piece of cake.

**27. Je suis un Imbécile** (I am a Fool)

Jinx wasn't drunk. Sure she had been drinking, but not enough to be intoxicated. Gizmo looked a lot taller though. He looked so cute, like a baby. It was hilarious. Everything seemed funny right now. The world was so pretty and everything was making her laugh.

She was craving pancakes. It sounded so good right now. At this time of night nowhere was open, they all were locked tight. Nobody would open for her. It wasn't fair. She _needed _pancakes. She wanted them now!

So now she was searching aimlessly for a place that was open. A place that would let her dip her pancakes in horse radish. She stumbled down the streets and found herself in an alley.

Gizmo and Mammoth were following her, rambling on about her being wasted or something. She had giggled, poked their forehead and told them to get lost. She was not wasted. They were just crazy.

She had ran off and lost them.

She heard a loud noise, and frowned. Why were people being so loud. It was annoying. She followed it curiously and when she came to the source of the noise the first thing she noticed was Richard.

He was watching a man and a woman. Staalkerrr!

It was unbelievably funny that he was here. She chuckled.

That stupid man was yelling at the woman. Jinx hated men like that. One, he was giving her a headache, couldn't he shut up. And second he was not being nice to that lady. People like that made Jinx's blood boil. That sign thingy on his arm wasn't getting him any points with her either. Trigon was dumb.

So she was overjoyed when Richard walked up and started beating that guy up. He did it with such ease you would never think he worked under the top gang leader in Jump City. Normally someone would have had trouble with a guy like that, but Richard was special. He was… Jinx couldn't think of a word. Not because she was drunk, which she wasn't.

He could hear Richard growling threats at the man, how sweet. What a little superhero.

She felt someone tap her shoulder. Gizmo and Mammoth stood there.

"We're going back." Mammoth said stupidly.

"M'kay, Imma stay here fer a sec eh?" Jinx smiled, "Try an' bring me backk and imma… hit you!" She was very pleased when she found a credible threat.

"Well whatever ya snot headed drunkard, we'll be waiting down there. Cause any problems and I'll make Mammoth carry you home." He saw what was going on in front of Jinx and raised his eyebrows, "Is that Wayne's kid. Aren't you in detention with him? What are you doing here Jinx?"

When Gizmo actually called her by her name and not a poop or booger related name you knew stuff was serious.

"Meh, just go." Jinx waved him off and turning back to something interesting, Gizmo wasn't amusing her now. Richard's little scuffle was pretty fun to watch. And thank goodness Gizmo and Mammoth had left.

It as she watched Richard she smirked, what a little faker. Pretending to be the real BA of the six of them, when he's defending helpless woman in the middle of the night. How sweet.

When the man was pretty much ready to run Richard pushed him away and told him to leave.

"And if I see you screwing around with anyone again, a black eye will be the least of your worries!"

The man scrambled away and Richard sighed, watching him, not looking one hundred percent 'there'

"Hey Moron!" Jinx called out. Richard turned and his face appeared somewhat shocked to see her here.

"What are you doing here?" Richard asked pinching the bridge of his nose as if he was stressed.

"Awe, ya not happy to see me huh?" Jinx pouted mockingly, sticking her bottom lip out for effect.

"Not particularly no. Go home, you're drunk."

"Why does evrayone say that?" Jinx cried, "Ay am NOT drunk!"

"Whatever you say, seriously what are you doing getting wasted on a Thursday morning?"

"Like you haven't."

"…"

"Do you have any pancakes?" Jinx asked innocently.

"Huh?"

"Ya deaf bonehead? I need pancakes!" Jinx replied, frustrated.

"And you seriously think you aren't…" He trailed off like he was talking to himself, "Just leave me alone, you have caused me enough problems."

"Don't be like that Richie. I saw yer little display there." Jinx laughed, "How valiant of you, like a prince."

Jinx walked closer to him, close enough to make him uncomfortable, she traced her finger across his collar bone in and purred in his ear, "So much for being a brooding, jaded, angsty teenager."

Richard blushed in anger and probably embarrassment, "Y'know you really had me fooled for a minute there ya little brat. Do you just use that to get woman?" She worked her finger up underneath his chin and flicked it out from under it. "Nice try though, I'll keep your little secret though… if you're a good boy. Cause that little pretend thingy you got there probably worked on Koly… or Karrie? What was her name?"

"Kori." Richard said stiffly.

"Ah yes, Kori." Jinx grinned, "Y'know you're cute when you're embarrassed." His face went a deeper crimson when she mentioned Kori.

"Awe you like her right? I knew it." She teased, poking his nose.

"Don't touch me." Richard replied curtly.

"Ya ya whatever." Jinx dismissed him, "I do what I want."

"I can tell." Richard managed, "Now leave me alone."

Jinx held her hand to heart and spoke passionately, "Prince Richard doesn't want me around? What ever shall I do?" She put a hand to her forehead to feign distress.

When she got no reaction, her face fell.

"You are no fun, fine I'll go."

"Thank you."

"You owe me."

"…"

She left Richard there on his own and went to find Gizmo.

Then it sank in her mind what she had done. She had just hit on Richard and asked him for pancakes.

When she reached Gizmo and Mammoth, who were leaning against a lamp post they looked at her questioningly.

"Wha-"

"No questions," She said as she grabbed them and dragged them away by the arms, "Let's just go back, I'm drunk."

I know, I know I did it again. I am so sorry. It's so late! I've just been dealing with some serious stuff. Between school, a part time job (with extremely long and late hours) and a brother and family who cause nothing but problems, writing has been the last thing on my mind.

So here's the deal, I won't be doing that once a month thing because I am not that dependable. Ask anyone of my friends. I promise that this story will be finished by December this year. Updates will be random, but once summer rolls around and everything starts slowing down updates should be for frequent.

Anyways if any of you are wondering about anything just ask. I'd be happy to PM any of you.

Sorry if there are an mistakes in this, feel free to point it out.

Vic is so cute to write. I don't know why, he's just pretty awesome. More of him and his dad in the next chapter I promise!

Kori's was really short, but it has a purpose I swear. I think she's quite a smart person, both in the original show and this fic. Maybe not so much with school but with feelings and people's interactions. She'll have a proper part in the next chapter.

More on Gar's secret little life. What could be going on with him? Who knows? We'll have to see. Some of you may have noticed a slight infatuation with Rachel surface in him. It wasn't extremely obvious, but he's not too smart with that sort of thing I think. It shouldn't be too apparent to him if he doesn't completely understand it himself.

Rachel… I didn't like writing her this time around, I usually like writing her too. I found it really challenging actually. Maybe because she was actually interacting with someone properly this chapter. She might be a little OOC in this one but whatever. That little scene with her and Gar was for the anon who wanted more BBRae. Seriously if any of you want to suggest anything, if it fits where the story is going and it relates, I'll put in in. The whole 'Raven' thing might be a bit confusing but it should clear up once I get farther into the plot.

Richard. Not such a bad guy. He's still having an inner conflict within himself about being free or listening to what he knows is right. Poor guy. RobStar is beginning… if any of you picked up on it.

Jinx. I don't know what made me want to make her a little tipsy but it worked out alright I guess. I figured she would be a funny and random kind of person when under the influence. Sorry I had her flirt with Richard. She doesn't actually like him, it's just the drink. I was unsure about so I added in the bit about Kori just in case.

I by no means support underage drinking, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I may not be a great writer but I want to write about things that are real. And a teenager who practically lives on the streets would not have a hard time getting booze.

Special thanks by the way to River WolfGirl for her reviews, they are always so nice to get. I think she's reviewed every chapter I've posted. So lots of love! Gold star to you!

I think I'm going to change the summary of this fic. Any of you agree?

Hope you liked the chapter.

**Poll:**

Do any of you watch or read Naruto? Cause after this fic I have one I want to write and I want to know if any of you would be interested. The summary will be posted on my bio under 'Soon to come stories' It's called 'What If'

A. Yes! I love Naruto!

B. Yeah I've read it and it's good, I'm not caught up though

C. I hate that show.

D. Other (Let me know)

P.S. Even if you don't like Naruto I have another Teen Titans one planned, the summary on my bio is posted as well. It's called, 'Forever Wasn't Long Enough'


	5. Week 1: Fourth Day

**28. Réalisations et souvenirs **(Realizations and Memories)

That detention had been a disaster, probably the worst one yet. And Gar had been beginning to think that they were starting to get along too. The whole problem started last night it seemed. Gar was confused. Everything that had been going on that day was really not in his level of understandingment. If that was a word.

Each person in that room just seemed angry. But like, even more than before. It wasn't awkward like it was yesterday. It seemed so… hateful. Like everyone could think of a kajillion reasons why they wanted to knock the other person off. Kori being the exception. She seemed so pleased which only made Gar even more puzzled.

He found himself pretty pissed off and upset today too. He couldn't help it, ever since he met these guys everything that had happened to him had been nothing but trouble. He almost got arrested and beat up by a girl on his very first day of school. He was scorned he was hated. Gar didn't understand why he was being put through all this.

Even when he was in worse situations he had remained a positive and somewhat happy individual. Gar could recall a foster home he'd lived in when he was in Gotham. The couple was cruel, somewhat abusive and it was pretty obvious that the dude was only in it for the cash he could get from the government.

That place was gross, crawling with rats and bugs, old and nasty microwave dinners every night. And the school life was even worse. Most of the kids there were either born into gangs, already in one, or were eventually going to be part of one. Even then Gar had been a pretty hyper kid.

What was it about this place that just brought him down? Gar wished that he was a smart dude, then he might actually know. Maybe it was because those other five were able to figure things out about him that he wanted to stay hidden. Maybe because they weren't people he could easily understand. He didn't really 'get' many people. But he usually could get a decent idea of what kind of person they were. Not with them.

Last night really had put him in a bad mood. Why did Rachel have to come in and think he needed protecting? Keeping him away from that man in the subway, shooing away Adonis. She seemed to think that he was helpless and couldn't do anything for himself. He didn't like that she had helped him. Sure he should have been grateful or something, but Rachel just needed to mind her own business.

How had she figured out that he was lying? He knew she was observant but he never thought that she was _that _good. Yeah, he hadn't just moved here, but why did she have to make such a big deal out of it? It wasn't fair. She didn't have too point it out or ask him about it. How was it her business?

And then she had to go on and make him like her. He had spent the previous night thinking about it, and after a few hours of video games and asking Rita what she thought, that was what he came up with.

Rachel. He liked _Rachel_. The girl whose first words to him were basically, 'Touch me and you DIE!' Wonderful.

Right now he was pretty mad at her, but he still liked her. Rita had been over joyed when he had asked her. She had tried to get him to blab more about her but he didn't, it was embarrassing enough. And Adonis just _had _to call her his girlfriend, then go on and flirt with her.

Adonis was grosssssss.

Rachel had been really dark and grumpy today. Probably because of him, she wouldn't even look at him and had cleverly kept her gaze as far away from him as possible. Not that Gar minded. He wasn't a ball of sunshine himself today.

Jinx seemed out of sorts today as well. Usually she was making sarcastic remarks and trying to annoy people in the coyest way possible. Instead she was just quiet, and seemed really uncomfortable and almost ashamed of something, she was particularly sensitive to loud noises as well. Weird.

Richard was the same; he was avoiding Kori and Jinx like the plague and was just as rude as he usually was to Vic and Gar.

Vic just was sad, he looked as if he felt… guilty for something.

He was on his way out of class, waved goodbye to Kori, and then walked down the hallways.

Gar trudged around and sighed. If this went on any longer he was screwed. Someone was going to come out of these ten days, and not be in good shape. That person would probably be him.

He turned down the hallway towards the exit. He recognized a head of purple hair going through her locker. Gar's stomach flipped despite himself, but he forced himself to look away. He saw her eyes turn towards him, but her face still faced the lockers.

Once he walked by he heard the locker shut and Rachel began walking down the halls, probably a bit farther back than him. Gar tried to ignore it but he felt tense and nervous. It was obvious she would like nothing better than to rip out his spline and shove it up his butthole in an effort to get him to answer her question from the previous night.

When he reached the door he felt her push past him as he went through the door. She was looking down, not at him, but he could have sworn he heard her mutter a word.

Sorry.

Gar was so surprised that he froze, letting the door swing behind him. It took him a moment to process what had just happened and as he did his face slowly became a darker shade of red. Eventually he snapped out of his momentary shock and rushed out of the doors.

Rachel was already about to leave the school's property when Gar called out, "Me too!"

Rachel turned, she didn't smile, she didn't reply, but she didn't glare. She only looked at him and nodded. It was as though she was accepting his apology. Wow. Never saw that one coming.

Gar grinned and waved.

Well there ya go.

* * *

Gar was at home in his room, he'd just come back and was exhausted. That subway sure was a work out. Gar was not exactly physically fit like Vic or Richard, so trying to make his way through a crowd of angry commuters was not an easy task. He always had been a little lanky so his only real weapon he could use was his boney elbows. Those babies could cause some damage when pushing through big crowds of fat ladies with newborns. Not that he did that… of course not.

He sighed as he looked at the ceiling in his room, counting the stars that stuck to it. Rita had put them up when he first arrived, Steve had said that he was a little old for glow in the dark stars, but Gar liked them. They reminded him of his childhood, when he was young he had always looked at the night sky with his mom. His dad never had much of an interest in stars, but whenever his dad had found a planet, he always pointed it out to Gar.

Thinking about them always brought mixed feelings. He loved his parents, he couldn't have asked for a better childhood, but he was beginning to forget them. The memories he had had were beginning to fade. It was over 10 years since they had died, and Gar had been so young. He was pretty sure the only reason their faces were still in his mind was because of the photo album he kept.

He reached underneath his bed and pulled it out. It was really heavy and Gar grunted as he lifted it up. His dad had been big on photography and his mom had loved posing with her son. So that made sure that Gar had hundreds of photos to look at.

Before he opened the album he heard a knock at the door.

"Gar?" A soft voice asked, "Can I come in?"

"Sure Rita!" Gar answered, shoving the album underneath his pillow. He didn't like others looking at his pictures, it felt too private, like they were for his eyes only.

Gar could remember when his aunt had handed him the album at the funeral. He had snatched it from her and screamed, demanding if she had gone through it.

Maybe it had been too much, but everyone at that funeral just saw him as the little boy who didn't understand. Who didn't understand his parents weren't coming back. He understood, he'd seen it happen; he wasn't a stranger to death. He had more understanding than any of them.

No one in that room had cared for him or his parents as for as the young boy was concerned, and he hated his aunt. Still did to this day, for various reasons.

"Sorry to bother you." His foster mother smiled as she peeked her head in the door then walked in.

"No problem, I'm just hanging around." Gar replied, returning her smile, "What's up?"

"Nothing really, just wanted to see how you were feeling." Rita laughed guiltily, "I know you hate when I ask but…"

"No it's fine, I wasn't feeling great yesterday. I feel GREAT today. Just sleepy! I'm not used to waking up for school so early."

Rita had made her way to his bed and sat down, she smirked playfully, "What are you hiding under there, huh? It's so big it's bulging out."

Gar scowled mockingly.

"Subtle." Rita laughed, "Do you mind if I see?"

Gar didn't say anything. Rita's eyes softened knowingly, "Don't feel forced; I know you don't like talking about them."

"Thanks."

"I'll start dinner; I'm making waffles and tofu eggs, breakfast for dinner! Sound good?"

"Sounds awesome." Gar replied.

"I really hope you can open up when you're ready, 'cause we don't plan on you leaving us in a hurry." Rita said, sounding very determined but considerate at the same time.

"Yeah, I know." Gar grinned, "I don't plan on leaving soon either!"

When she left the room Gar's grin faded slowly. He decided maybe he didn't want to look through the photos. Sometimes they brought nostalgia, sometimes happiness.

Mostly guilt.

_I'm the reason they're dead._

**29. Laissant Échapper Colère Longtemps en Retard** (Letting out Long Overdue Anger)

Kori was sitting in Galfore's den, he was working, Kori wasn't sure what he was working on, but it was probably important. She was content to observe and smile. She was fairly positive that her company was pleasant for her guardian, although he probably would not say otherwise in consideration to her feelings.

They had just eaten dinner and Kaylea had been absent. Kori was unsure as to the reasons why, but it was not an unusual occurrence.

Kori always wished she was on better terms with her sister, but Kaylea seemed bent on hating her. Kori did not blame her. Apparently it was all her fault that Kaylea did not see her parents as often as she wished.

Kori wanted to ask her if there was anything she could do to make it up to her. There most likely wasn't, but Kori was willing to try.

When thinking about such problems, it often gave Kori what Galfore called, 'head aches'.

"Galfore?" Kori asked listlessly.

"Yes Kori." He replied looking up from his work, Kori liked that he did that. It meant he was taking time to put is attention towards her.

"Do you know the reason why my parents travel so often?"

Galfore paused for a moment. "I know this isn't exactly the answer you wish for, but I cannot tell you."

"Is it because they dislike resting in one place, or something else?" Kori pushed.

Her guardian stared at her for a moment. It was like her was analyzing to see if Kori was aware of something.

"Kaylea told you then?" Galfore sighed, his eyes softening in sympathy.

Overcome by sadness Kori whipped her head around, so Galfore couldn't see her saddened face, she knew it would upset him/ She nodded, unsure of why all of a sudden she was crying.

"I'm sorry Kori."

Kori didn't answer for a moment, as she attempted to bring her feelings back where she was able to control them. She brought her hands up to her face and smacked her cheeks twice to snap herself out of it.

She took a deep breath and said with a shaky voice, "I am well. I only felt that I needed to sneeze and did not wish to affect your paperwork with potential saliva.. I shall make 'the pinky swear' that I am now alright?"

"You do not have to pretend for me Kori. I understand this is probably hard, I just wish you could have heard it from me. I should have told you sooner."

Kori wanted so badly to keep crying, or scream, or hit something. Galfore's feelings were more important, he seemed to feel guilt and Kori did not wish to trouble him any further. So she would pretend, as she always did, that she was fine. Perhaps one day she would believe it.

"Please do not blame yourself. I am very pleased that you were truthful with me. I do ask however that you will not be angry with Kaylea. I do not understand her, but she is my sister." Kori said.

Galfore rubbed his forehead, Kori wondered if he had aches in the head as well.

"Please do not worry for my sake. I have said I am fine."

"Are you really?"

"Of course, it is very relieving to know the reason why they travel. Now that I understand I should do very well." Kori lied. She added a toothy smile to convince him.

"If you're sure, but if you ever need to talk I'm here for you." Galfore answered, "I have to go out for a while, will you be OK on your own. I think Kaylea is upstairs."

Kori laughed half-heartedly and got up from her seat, "Of course, do not worry for me, I have to do 'The Homework'."

Instead of doing what she had said she would, Kori went up the stairs. She got about halfway up then sat down. Had her life always been as confusing as it presently was? It was most peculiar that Kori could barely recall a time before this.

Her life as a young human was very pleasant. Even though she never had friends, there were always her pretend ones. They had always kept her company even when her sister and parents hadn't. The different animals from each country had also made her feel not so on her own. It really was a lovely childhood, Kori would miss her parents constantly, but it she was so fortunate to be able to reside in a variety of places she did not wish to complain.

Now her life was so much stranger than before. Sometimes Kori wondered if she wasn't doing, 'the growing up' fast enough. Kori did not know how to do it though, everyone seemed to comprehend the concept except her. It made Kori feel even more abnormal than she already did.

Rachel was someone who Kori could tell was goodat doing 'the growing up'. Kori wished that she could be like Rachel, Rachel was sure of herself. She may have been quiet, but Kori admired that Rachel appeared to know who she was and what she should do, say, and feel.

All of them in fact seemed so much more of 'the grown ups' than she was. Even Gar seemed to treat her almost too kindly and carefully, despite his childlike manner.

Her thoughts were cut short by a vibration in her pocket. She pulled out her phone and read the name listed.

_Mother._

Kori automatically smiled, then remembered and her smile faded. She had to answer it though; Kori hadn't heard from her parents since she had come to America. It was like she had no choice but to answer the cellular device.

"Hello?" Kori said as she picked up her phone.

"Kori? Hi, how have you been?" Her mother's voice had always been smooth and comforting. Kori sometimes couldn't put a face to the voice, but she always remembered her mother's voice.

"I am very satisfactory Mother." Kori replied, "I hope you are the same. Where are you and father now? Are you feeling the excitement that you will be able to visit?"

"Ah, that's why I called Kori. It seems that we won't be able to make it this time. Your father is a very busy man."

Kori's heart sank, "Is he really?"

"Why of course dearest, he works very hard. Perhaps when you're older you'll understand. Next time alright."

Kori wanted to smash something. For the first time in a while she at an urge to hit something so hard it smashed. Her mother was telling a lie. It was not right, and Kori could not see how it was fair. It was just the way her mother said those words. They were not genuine, they were lies, all Kori had ever been told.

The feeling she was getting in her stomach was most unpleasant, but Kori didn't care. She could not believe that her mother would abandon her yet again.

"Kori? Are you still there?"

"Yes I am Mother." Kori managed, "But what you are saying is not the truth. I do not wish to have the distrust with you, but you are not speaking words of integrity, and I am afraid that I am able to pretend otherwise."

"Kori, what are y-"

Kori hung up. Without thinking she ran up the stairs into her parent's room. The one they had never set foot in because they never cared to visit or see how their children were doing.

She grabbed a vase and threw it against a wall. It shattered instantly.

It felt good, it sounded horrible to say, but it felt really good.

So she continued, until almost everything in the room was either thrown, punched or broken.

Kori didn't cry, she only screamed. It was too far from Galfore's study for him to hear, the house was so big anyways.

Just as she was about to toss the table across the room the door opened.

Kaylea walked in.

She observed what Kori had done, then looked at her sister.

"Your inhuman strength sure is wasted on you Kori." Kaylea said, her voice dripping with disdain, "Was the truth so devastating that you had to do this? I have to say I'm impressed. Sweet sister turned bitch eh?"

Kori dropped the table, and quickly made her way up to Kaylea.

"Why would you inform me of such a thing," She asked angrily, "Why would you burden me with such a thing? Is you distaste for me so bad that you had to tell me that my own parents hate me?"

"Yes." Kaylea whispered with a wicked smile plastered on her face.

"What did I do to you?!" Kori screeched, "What is the horrible thing I did to make you wish I were never conceived?!"

Kaylea considered this a moment, "You were born."

"That answer is…" Kori paused to remember the word, "BULLSHIT!"

Kaylea's expression suddenly became less triumphant, her smile a little less confident.

"I did not request for my birth! Please explain to me how this is my mistake! I wish I had never lived because no person, not even my family, wanted me here!" Kori began to cry hot, angry tears.

"I do not understand why I was put here, but I was! Not once did I consider hating you Kaylea, I treated you with decency. Why can you not love me like a sister? I only require someone to at least acknowledge me! Is that a request to great for a human being?"

Kori stopped speaking for a moment. Tears made pathways down her cheeks; she sniffed and sobbed until Kaylea answered.

"Who would acknowledge you when you can't even acknowledge yourself? I didn't always hate you, I started to when I realized what a stupid, selfish, self centered person you are. All you care about is how people think of you. You, you, you. Guess what Kori Anders, I hate you. Mom and Dad hate you, Galfore probably too since you have tied him down into a life where he has to take care of you as if you were a baby. Grow up!"

"I'M TRYING!" Kori shrieked and thrust her fist towards Kaylea's face, Kaylea moved and Kori's fist hit the wall, making a dent.

Kaylea looked at Kori's hand, then at her face, "You may have gotten the strength, but you seem to forget that I'm a lot smarter than you. Don't even try it baby sister. Just finish this year of high school, leave town and never come back, OK?"

Kori couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Please leave me alone." Kori whimpered pathetically.

"My pleasure."

Her sister turned around and walked away. Kori was alone again, only this time there were no friends of the imagination to comfort her.

Kori tried whipping her face, but she kept crying.

She stupidly waddled to the bed, the blankets were untidy from her little 'freaking out' but they seemed to be the most welcoming thing in the world right now.

Kori slowly crawled into the blankets and rolled herself up in them so that all she could see was the fabric.

_I'm sorry I'm such a bad person, I'm sorry Kaylea, I'm sorry._

**30. Ne Jamais Oublier, mais Continuer à Avancer** (Never Forget but Keep Moving)

Vic had gotten a call from his father about an hour ago saying he was on his way to visit. Vic had been shocked since his father never came around here anymore. Vic didn't really care that he didn't, it was understandable. The only sense his father really had. Now he was coming. It probably wasn't too smart an idea.

This city wouldn't bring any good memories for his dad and if it did, they would be canceled out by the bad ones. But the guy was comin' and there wasn't nothing Vic could do or say to stop him.

He heard a knock at his door.

Well that's just peachy.

Vic didn't know what he was supposed to say to Silas Stone. They didn't have much in common anymore, ever since… well that didn't really matter anymore. The fact was that they didn't have anything to talk about and the meetings where Vic wasn't comforting a drunk man were awkward as hell.

Vic opened the door and saw his father looking much better than when he had seen him last. He had shaven, thank the Lord, and he wasn't wearing clothes that made him look like a homeless man.

"Yo Dad, how've you been?" Vic greeted with a happy grin, maybe a little forced, but not fake.

"Just fine Victor. You've been good too?" His dad asked, walking through the door, "This place isn't as messy as I thought it would be, that's something I guess."

Vic sighed as his father passed him, "So what are ya even doing here, you don't usually come around anymore?"

Silas laughed, "Do you want to sit down? I wanted to talk to you."

"If this is one of those heart to heart things, I ain't having one with you."

"No, I just want to talk. No big deal right?"

Vic narrowed his eyes, but led his dad to the kitchen table anyways. They both sat down, there was an awkward silence before Silas spoke.

"I wanted to talk to you about, y'know…"

"Yeah, I see where you're going with this."

"I wanted to apologize." Silas said honestly.

Vic laughed out loud, but not in a rude way, but in an 'I am genuinely amused way'.

"Man you do enough of that sorry crap when you're drunk. I honestly don't need another one. It's fine Dad, I understand, you went through some freaky stuff."

Silas looked shocked by his son's response and Vic wasn't surprised. Had Silas spoken with him a couple months ago Vic would not have been as compliant or friendly.

"You can't possibly understand, you're just saying that. I don't need your sympathy Vic; I need you to forgive me."

"Man, seriously you have been here five minutes and you're already annoying me."

"I knew you weren't as-"

"And not because you have a drinking problem," Vic cut in, "But because you can't accept the fact that I understand your reasons and frankly don't give a shit."

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'" Vic laughed, this time without humor. Any playfulness he had had moments before was gone now, his father insisted on whining, it was as if he wanted Vic to pay attention to him, like he was a child, "I care about your health or whatever, but I get that you're drinking cause of Mom. I don't think you're being smart about handling it, but I'm not about to stop my life and cry to someone because my Dad is drunk half the time."

Silas scowled, "Do not bring your mother into this Victor. We are talking about what's going on between you and me."

"You're crazy man, all this is happening because of Mom. I just can't believe you can't grasp that. I'm grateful for everything you did for me after what happened, but you can't pretend that nothing has changed and that it's not all because of her."

"You are a kid Victor, you won't understand this until you're older." Silas defended, lamely Vic added.

"I'm almost 18. That ain't a kid. What happened to apologizing? Now you're hollering at me for being the mature one in this family? I swear, it's like you don't have any sense."

Silas was silent for a moment then spoke, "Why don't you feel anything?"

"'Scuse me?" Vic asked, confused.

"It's like you never loved your mom. You've forgotten her completely, or you don't care that she died. How could you do that? To the woman how loved and raised you too!"

Vic frowned, this time actually offended by Silas's words, "You think I don't care? Of course I do! She was my mom, how could I not be upset? I can't believe you would say something like that drunk, let alone sober!"

"Then why are you acting like she's still here and nothing is wrong?"

"Everything's wrong Dad! My father is a drunk, my mom is dead, I have injuries from an accident that I'll never be able to recover from. Nothing is alright, my life sucks compared to how it was before, I know, but it's a lot better than some people's."

"Name one person."

"That, I'm afraid, is not of your business."

There was another silence. Not uncommon with this father and son duo.

"Do want to know why I really act the way I do?" Vic asked, eerily quiet for someone of his large personality, "I do it because Mom wouldn't have wanted me to mope and stop my life all of a sudden. She'd want me to go to college, find friends, start a family, keep her memory alive, but not use that memory for an excuse to wallow in sadness."

Silas didn't say anything, Vic guessed it was probably because he wasn't used to hearing his son speak so wisely. Vic had never been a very wise person; he had always been smart in sciences and mechanics, but never really in life. Vic truly believed that because of the death of his mother he finally got his shit together and started thinking like an adult. He was still silly, exuberant Victor Stone, just with a little more common sense. Silas hadn't been able to see Vic very often ever since the accident 8 months ago so the change must have seemed sudden to him.

"Like I said before, I'm almost 18. Mom won't get to see me graduate, go to prom, get married, or any of that crap. That doesn't mean she wouldn't want me to do them. I keep going not because I don't care, but because I want to be the person she wanted me to become. So I grew up. Maybe you should too."

Silas, put his head in his hands, "I-I think I have a lot to think about."

Vic sighed, "Yeah, you do. Hopefully without the booze, did you know that stuff doesn't help you think straight?"

"Sarcasm noted, thanks Vic. I really am sorry; I'll be off now OK?"

Silas stood up and headed for the door,

"Dad, you just got here! C'mon I can get us something to eat, I've got ste-ak." He said the last part as if it would tempt his meat loving father, a trait Vic himself inherited.

"No, sorry Vic. I'm behind on work, you can guess why, Pam's been on my back about getting my act back together."

"You are pretty damn lucky you have her covering for you." Vic reminded him, smiling at the thought of his not-so-teacher-like science teacher.

"I know." Silas laughed.

"I can drive you home if you want." Vic offered.

"It's fine, I have to make a stop on the way home." And with that last statement Silas Stone shut the front door and left.

"Yeah," Vic muttered, "To the beer store."

He may have been able to deal with his father's drinking, but he missed spending time with him. Vic wasn't so proud he couldn't admit that.

**31. Faire la Bonne Chose** (Doing the Right Thing)

Richard was furious, that guy had a lot of nerve. As if he didn't hate people in authority enough, that man just had to go and call him to his office. Richard never had liked Mr. Wilson, he was pretty sure that after that little encounter he was ready to hit someone. Preferably the Vice Principal himself.

* * *

_Earlier that Day:_

_"Mr. Grayson, I know you've already served your time today in detention, but would you be so kind as to come into my office for a moment?"_

_Richard grunted, not bothering to offer him a proper reply, and followed the man into the office._

_He sat in front of the desk and propped his feet up against the side. Mr. Wilson looked at the feet, clearly not impressed, but chose not to comment._

_"Why am I here?" Richard drawled out lazily, "I'm cooperating or whatever. I'm coming to detention, what more do you want from me?"_

_"You think that just coming to detention is going to make all your school problems go away?" Mr. Wilson scoffed, much to Richard's annoyance._

_"My after school life is none of your business." Richard glared, "How would you know what I get up to?"_

_"I have my ways Mr. Grayson."_

_"You really shouldn't be a principal, y'know?"_

_"Probably not, yet here we are." Mr. Wilson chuckled, not a nice one either, "This conversation has escalated fast, has it not?_

_"Can we just cut to the chase, I have places to be."_

_"Before I do, I have a few questions for you. How is the detention going? How is each of them getting along?"_

_"Is there a reason for this?"_

_"Remember you six are my little test subjects, I simply wish to know how this form of discipline is working. Surely you can understand that Richard."_

_Richard's brow furrowed even more intensely as he said to the man, "I would rather not be referred to as a test subject. Sounds somewhat morbid in the wrong context, don't you think? I'm also pretty sure you have no permission what-so-ever to be carrying out your little test. Locking minors in a room who hate each other doesn't sound like it goes along with the rules, eh? That's why you haven't called the cops on us, and that's why you never will, no matter what we do. I play a lot of poker Wilson; I know when someone's bluffing." _

_Mr. Wilson, to Richard's surprise, laughed, "You are quite the dark, brooding teenager aren't you? That's quite an assumption you just made, and I haven't called the cops because I have other… means of punishment."_

_Richard raised an eyebrow._

_"All legal of course, you doubting child. Now if you would please answer my questions."_

_Richard rolled his eyes defiantly, "Yeah, whatever."_

_"Does the punishment seem to be working?"_

_"No."_

_"Why is that?"_

_"Because we all hate each other?"_

_"All of you?"_

_"Not exactly." Richard admitted. He didn't really want to talk about anyone in that room, and he did not see why he had to, he thought that if he just went through the required time he could forget about them._

_"Elaborate please." _

_"Kori Anders does not belong in there." Richard answered bluntly._

_"Why is this? She was a part of the fight, there was bruising on her face."_

_"You know damn well that Kori couldn't have fought with us, she just didn't speak up." Richard protested, wondering why he was defending her._

_"Then isn't it her own fault for not saying anything? And despite her timid appearance, when Kori came here, she had a record for violent outbursts in other places where she received education."_

_Richard didn't reply. He was shocked. Kori had a record. Happy, annoying, everyone-should-be-friends, Kori? He couldn't believe it._

_"You see, that's why she is in that room with you five. She gave no indication that she was uninvolved and she has a reputation. The bruises were there, what would you have done?"_

_Richard again said nothing. _

_"Judging by your surprise I will assume she is doing well so far in your little group. How about Victor Stone?"_

_"What about him?"_

_"Is he doing well getting along with everyone? Is there any of them he's close with?"_

_"He and that shrimp get along fine I guess, he's nice to Kori. He seems like he's known Rachel for a while. Jinx doesn't really like him."_

_Something flashed in Mr. Wilson's eyes and Richard wondered if he may have said something he shouldn't have._

_"Then Garfield Logan is making friends? What's he like with everyone?"_

_"He's obnoxious. Nothing else."_

_"Does anybody else share your view on him?" The Vice Principal asked, pulling out a notebook and scribbling something in it._

_"Yeah, Jinx and Rachel."_

_"Why do they dislike him?" Mr. Wilson prodded._

_"Because he bothers them, didn't I say that already?"_

_"Right, and how is Jinx?"_

_"I do not want to talk about anyone else now if you don't mind." Richard said, instantly remembering his encounter with the pink haired girl very early this morning._

_"Do you not like her for matters in school or out of school?"_

_"Out." _

_"Then I suppose it is none of my business. But she is going fine in detention?"_

_"She's like me; she doesn't care about any of this." Richard said, adjusting his feet. As he did he crumpled more papers on Mr. Wilson's desk, yet still the man didn't say anything about it._

_"And Rachel?"_

_"No one knows anything about her, don't expect me to. She just sits there and says nothing. Rachel Roth could probably care less about this too. Can I go now?"_

_"Not just yet," As Mr. Wilson said this Richard groaned, "I need a favor."_

_Richard sighed, "What?"_

_"I need you to keep an eye on the other five. I would like you to report anything you see to me. Inside or outside of school. If you do this I can personally assure you that even if you six fail the test at the end of these 2 weeks, you will not have to re take it."_

_"Tempting, but I'm a kid not a spy. I don't know where you're coming from asking me to stalk them but I won't do it. And so long as you're a principal, you can't make me. Jump City may be a crime ridden piece of crap kind of city, but people say that the hospital, school, or any public service group is safe. I can call people out on those kinds of lies. You are a corrupt man; I don't need you to tell me I'm wrong because I'm not. No principal would ever ask a student to spy for them, do what you want to me outside of school, because only early this morning I fought and took down one of Trigon's men. He was begging for mercy and it didn't even take me 3 minutes. Come near me outside of school ever and I will break you."_

_Mr. Wilson stared at Richard a moment longer then smiled, "You may go now Mr. Grayson." _

_Richard got up and opened the door to leave then turned around, "And don't think I haven't noticed your particular interest in that Roth girl."_

_Mr. Wilson's eyes flashed dangerously again, "I said you may go."_

_He was no longer smiling._

* * *

Present:

Richard was fuming mad. That bastard! What right had he to speak to him like that?

Richard threw himself on the couch in one of the many sitting rooms the house had, and then tossed a pillow violently across the room.

"Richard what are you doing?" Richard turned to see Bruce leaning against the door frame.

"Nothing Bruce."

"You are angry." His foster father observed.

"No shit."

"Why are you angry at the pillow?" Bruce asked with a smirk.

"You know that isn't why I'm mad." Richard scowled, and then muttered to himself, "I could wring that man's neck."

Bruce walked towards him, "Don't worry you'll get your keys to your bike soon enough, please don't wring my butler's neck. He's very useful, and I don't think he'd find it very pleasant."

"Not Alfred you idiot, someone else."

"I know."

"Why are you even talking to me right now, it's not like we ever really did before. I liked it that way."

"Why do you insist on hating everyone, and everything around you? Having that mindset makes you unable to see people for what they truly are. A skill that you may need eventually in the real world."

"People are sick."

Bruce looked at him curiously, "That is true, but not of everyone. There are always people that can be close to you and not betray your trust."

"Yeah maybe, but not in this city."

"Gotham is not beyond saving Richard."

"Then why do you make me go to school in Jump City?" Richard pointed out, "It's not like it's that much better than Gotham."

"Jump City has a better school. That's hardly the point." Bruce answered, "But you really should learn to put your faith in people who might be able to do good in the world."

"If you're talking about local law enforcement, I gave up on them a long time ago; if they can't catch me doing minor stuff how can they catch gang leaders?"

"Not necessarily the Police Richard, just people. I may not be the most suited for a foster parent position, but I owe it to your parents to try and guide you to some extent."

"Don't talk about my parents Bruce. Leave me alone."

"I suppose I can't say I didn't try."

**32. Garder la Loi** (Keeping up the Act)

"Rachel, we need to get going." Rachel's father spoke from the other side of the door.

Rachel sighed quietly and set her book aside. Emily Brontё would have to wait.

She hated going to her father's business meetings, but he always made a point of having her come, mostly to help her gain a reputation similar to his own, also so that his precious daughter would learn the ropes of his trade. Not that Rachel wanted anything to do with Trigon, but with a father who pretty much ruled the city, she was left with little choice in regards to her occupation.

"Coming Father." Rachel replied, voice void of emotion as per usual.

"Make sure you bring your hood."

"I always do."

Her hood. It was what separated Rachel and Raven from each other. She occasionally pulled her hoods up in school when she really didn't want to be noticed but outside of school hood on meant Raven, off meant Rachel. Her father always told her that in his line of work you needed a 'secret identity' if it could even be called that.

To the underground world in Jump City, the short girl with the dark hood whose face was concealed by shadows was Raven, daughter of Trigon, heir to the gang business. To anyone else she was Rachel Roth, a nobody.

It was the same with Trigon. He always managed to keep himself hidden; their neighbors had never met him. If anyone asked they would be told that Terrance and Angela Roth lived there with their daughter, and that both parents worked late. Half was true, but it had been a while since Rachel's mother had lived alongside her daughter and husband. Rachel was forbidden from mentioning her.

She had once, to get her father angry. That had only resulted in a concussion and a fractured wrist, which never were treated. Not by a professional at least, Rachel made do with what she could.

But regardless of who lived in the house, what went on in there was top secret, never to be spoken of to any soul outside of Trigon's trusted circle.

A lot of gang dealings would be handled in their house so that's why no one knew where Rachel lived and she never went the same way home twice. Many times had Rachel opened up the freezer to find weed laced with heaven knows what, next to the Eggos.

Rachel pulled up the black hood of her hoodie up. She wore black jean shorts over top of her sheer patterned tights and once she laced up her combat boots and grabbed a knife she was ready to go.

She opened the door, to find her father standing over her. His dark hair was beginning to go white, and she could see his tattoos peeking out of the bottoms of his sleeves and seeping onto his hands.

"Who are we meeting with tonight father?" Rachel asked dully.

"Slade."

* * *

Rachel sat in the back off the black van. She noted its newness. Her Father sat behind with her, he never drove, if any guns were shot at them, they would hit the driver, not Trigon. The man riding shotgun also happened to be a guns expert who rarely missed a target, not that Rachel had seen anyways. If anyone even thought about ambushing the van, they'd be shot down most likely before they could even pull their gun out.

"Your head healing up?" Her father asked with his usual tone of hardness. Rachel could tell he was somewhat concerned.

Rachel touch the wound on her forehead from their fight the other night and nodded shortly, "It's fine."

Trigon didn't grace her with a reply but Rachel didn't care. She was pissed enough already.

Slade was a bastard. Rachel didn't really curse too often, but it was true, Slade was a bastard. She hated any dealings with him. His voice simply made her feel violated just talking to him. He disgusted her in every way. Very few people did Rachel have such strong feelings of hate for. Slade was lucky to be one of them. When she took over for her father, which was inevitable, she'd hire a hitman for him. The world would be better without him in it.

Rachel shook her head slightly, it was thinking like that that would turn her into a person like her father. That was never something she aspired to. Rachel didn't have much of a choice over what she'd end up doing, but she made a promise to herself at a young age, that no matter how bad things got or what she was forced to do, Rachel would never lose herself. She considered herself nothing without her principals and morals. She may be made up of genes from her parents, but what she did was what Rachel believed made her a type of person. She wasn't about to start getting used to, or immune to Trigon's dealings.

Maybe that was why she was still feeling bad about her dealings with Garfield Logan the previous night. Sure she had apologized and he had gracefully accepted it, but she still felt bad. It was completely unlike her to have her thoughts consumed by a person. Maybe because despite his apparent open demeanor and her unnatural perceptive abilities she hadn't quite figured him out.

It was an issue of pride most likely, but the fact that he had lied about how long he had lived in the city was so strange. It was a silly thing to dwell on but it was also just as absurd to lie about. Whatever it was he was not sharing and Rachel hated prying so she'd leave it alone. Asking would only lead her to getting to know him better. That leads to empathy, which leads to mutual appreciation, which without fail leads to attachment.

Contrary to popular believe Rachel Roth, the ice demon, was capable of being attached. As a child she was attached to her mother. When she was nine she was attached to the neighbourhood stray cat she dubbed Peanut. Rachel had almost become attached to Vic, but stopped herself just in time. Vic would have only been hurt by any friendship between them, which was why Rachel kept to herself in school. She was a natural introvert, but having a dangerous father didn't help.

That was why Rachel Roth was going to stay away from everyone in that detention room. Be the stereotype.

The car stopped. They were there. When the driver had checked the area and given the OK Trigon and Rachel stepped out of the car and began walking towards the old seemingly abandoned warehouse.

"Why are we meeting Slade this time father?" Rachel asked.

"He's going to take care of a few clients who owe me money."

"Meaning they'll be dead in the next twenty four hours and you'll have all the cash they ever earned?"

"You might say that."

"How nice," Rachel replied dryly, "Can't you just ask like a normal person?"

Trigon stared at her a moment then continued walking, "I can't have others thinking that I let people who break deals with me off the hook easy."

Rachel rolled her eyes; Trigon wouldn't be able to see with her hood concealing her face.

As they approached the warehouse and Rachel clenched her fist as she saw who arrived.

Slade was there, with that stupid looking mask. She supposed it was to prevent exposure or whatever, but it was stupid none the less. It was his partner that caused her displeasure however.

They approached the two and Slade and Trigon made their greetings.

Rachel simply stared harshly into the eyes of Slade's pet.

Eventually the two men went off into their own conversation leaving the two girls on their own. There was a moment of silence before the girl spoke.

"So Raven, still clinging onto daddy dearest huh? Are you ever going to start thinking for yourself instead of being the perfect little robot daughter."

"Still sleeping with fifty year old hitmen Terra?" Rachel deadpanned, "Congratulations you just proved that you're white trash."

The thin girl pushed her blonde hair behind her shoulders and made a 'huff' noise, "Like anyone we spend our time with cares about that sort of thing."

Rachel didn't answer. She kept her cold expression constant. As much as Rachel disliked Slade's lover and partner, she felt bad for her. She had no idea what made this seventeen year old stoop to this, but Terra had, and it was nearly impossible to dig herself out of the situation now.

"Haven't seen you around in a while Raven."

"Believe me, it's been pleasant."

"What have you been doing? Torturing squirrels?" Terra mocked.

"Oo close, it was actually racoons." Rachel replied, "I'm sure you've been busy too. Burn any buildings to the ground? Bomb any apartment complexes?"

Terra raised an eyebrow and smirked. Rachel didn't like the girl's attitude especially when she put her hands on her hips.

"Y'know Raven, most people in our line of work would consider that impressive."

"I'm not impressed by loud and flashy light shows that have no purpose or prior planning. If anyone needs to be taught the art of subtly and having a point to you actions, it's you Terra. I guess Slade didn't teach you that while you were in his bed."

"Shut up Raven, totally unnecessary." Terra groaned, "How I live my life shouldn't concern you, I don't live to impress you."

"Need I remind you that you started this? I was perfectly happy to keep quiet until Trigon and Slade were finished."

"You didn't have to answer," Terra pointed out.

"You're just too easy I couldn't help myself." Rachel replied without inflection.

Terra frowned and Rachel continued to look impassive.

"Despite my growing dislike for you and your boy toy, I feel sorry for you." Rachel continued after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't need your pity," Terra growled, "I chose this life myself."

"Did you really?" Rachel asked doubtfully, "I didn't choose mine. Not many people do, even my father was forced into it."

They both stood there for a moment. Terra was eyeing Rachel suspiciously, and Rachel, as usual, didn't show any sign that she cared.

"Did you really not choose this life?" Terra asked finally.

"Yes."

"I chose mine. I had another option, but it was the scary probably more difficult one."

"And living like this isn't?"

"Isn't it harder to live honestly?" Terra asked tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah."

"You just don't seem like the type who wouldn't choose this path." The blonde girl observed carefully.

"You don't know me, you know a hood."

"Touche." Terra sat on a crate nearby, finally relaxing into the conversation. Rachel still stood where she originally was not about to get comfortable, "Y'know I had a friend once. He was awesome, someone you'd definitely hate, but none the less awesome. He didn't care about how much of a mess up I was, he hung around me for me."

Rachel sighed inwardly; she did not need Terra's sob story.

"I dunno, I screwed up, or him. No no no, not like that, you may think I'm a dirty whore but I didn't sleep with the guy. We were like fourteen. I did screw him over though, that's a better word for it. I still feel bad about it."

Rachel just stood there, clearly uncomfortable. She hated when people opened up to her, she never knew how to react or what to say. Terra of all people too, two minutes ago she thought Terra wanted nothing more than to find Trigon's lair and blow it up with Rachel in it, now she was telling Rachel all this.

"Why am I even telling you this?" Terra wondered aloud, "It's commonly known that Terra and Raven hate each other. You probably don't care."

"I don't care really, no." Rachel admitted bluntly, "But feeling bad about what you did means that you're still human. The big bad wolves haven't caught you completely yet."

"The woodsman can still save me?" Terra laughed humorlessly, "Anybody ever tell you that you're brutally honest?"

Rachel shrugged.

"I'm not exactly a shoulder to cry on if that's what you mean."

"That's exactly what I mean."

"Since we're being brutally honest here, you may be sleeping with the most dangerous and sketchy hitman in the city, but I never thought you were a whore."

"Like how you're a sarcastic, cruel chick who's got hella good, or bad, connections, depending on how you look at it. I never thought you were heartless."

"Why?"

"I should ask you the same question?"

"This whole conversation has been very out of character for both of us."

"Yeah, how 'bout we _don't _do this again."

"Great." Rachel deadpanned.

Just as Rachel spoke Trigon and Slade approached. Both of them were big men, and neither Terra or Rachel were incredibly large, so it was an interesting sight.

"We're leaving Terra."

"Come Raven."

Rachel glanced at Terra for a moment. Then followed her father.

She still felt nothing near endearment towards her, but the fact that Terra had spoken to her about all that troubled Rachel. She knew she'd have to do some intensive meditating to keep her feelings in check.

These past few days, Rachel suddenly realized, were a disaster. She hadn't been aware of it until now, but she was getting soft. Maybe it was the fact that she had carried conversation with other people her age. Maybe it was when she felt a little bit understood when the other five didn't want to answer questions on family. Maybe it was because she had found people who hated, or were hated as much as she was.

It all came back to that first day.

Everything did.

Before they made it to the car Rachel saw a flash of pink in the corner of her eye.

"Father, if you could, go without me."

"Why is that?"

"There is someone I need to speak with, a matter of business you might say."

If Trigon had been a kinder man he would have smiled. Rachel could tell he was proud that she was making dealings of her own, outside the business. Not that the dealings were anything like what he thought they were.

He nodded.

And Rachel was off.

**33. Tout le Monde a un Secret** (Everyone has a Secret)

Jinx had seen everything. She hadn't paid much attention to Terra or Raven, but she'd listened in on Slade and Trigon's conversation. Typical kill for hire conversing, nothing exciting, much to Jinx's disappointment.

Maybe eavesdropping was a bit below her, but they were the ones who took their business unknowingly to her place of residence. They couldn't complain if she happened to overhear them.

After it was finished she watched them start to leave, then Raven turned around and began walking towards her.

One not so ladylike word popped into her head.

Jinx was inside the warehouse but she knew that Raven had the nerve to not care and walk in.

And she did.

"Hey Raven!" Jinx said with false happiness, "Whatever are you doing here?"

"Cut the formalities Iris."

"Alright, if you want to play like that, let me start over." Jinx cleared her throat, "Get the hell out of my house Rachel."

"Charming."

"I dropped the formalities; I would never speak to Trigon's heir Raven like that, but Rachel Roth? Gladly." Jinx explained lazily.

"What did you hear?" Rachel demanded grabbing the collar of Jinx's shirt. Jinx wasn't fazed, she simply smirked.

"Nothing Rachel. You know I've known about your situation for a long time now. You really are paranoid."

"Protective actually, I don't need someone who is against Trigon listening in on his plans."

"I don't involve myself in his kind of organized crime, only time I care about Trigon is when his goons are blocking my way home." Jinx drawled.

Rachel didn't reply and her glare didn't waver, but she did let go of the collar of Jinx's shirt. Jinx could tell that Rachel knew that she was telling the truth.

"You have caused enough trouble for me over the years Jinx. Next time I would appreciate it if you didn't listen in like a five year old." Rachel spoke up.

"Yeah, next time keep away from my place." Jinx countered.

Rachel observed her surroundings, "This is your room?"

It was messy, bags of chips, old food, perverted magazines all spread across the floor. There was a mat on the ground in front of a T.V. the blanket spread across it was old and dirty.

"Again, charming."

"This is Seamore's room." Jinx protested indignantly.

"Then I feel dirty already."

"Why?"

"Because before I gave him that black eye last week he grabbed me in a place where I'd prefer left alone."

"Boobs or ass?" Jinx sighed exasperatedly, this happened a lot, and now looking back she should have known that it was Seamore's fault for the black eye.

"Does it matter?"

"Guess not. Regardless, please no more intruding on our turf. You're lucky Mammoth didn't find you." Jinx sneered.

"He wouldn't dare touch me. None of your friends would except for you apparently." Rachel said, referring to last week's little fight, "If Seamore knew who I was, he wouldn't have come near my chest."

"So it was boobs?"

"Again, it doesn't matter."

Jinx huffed, she felt bad now. She had started the fight for a stupid reason now. Because Rachel gave a black eye to someone who violated her. Jinx wished she had checked the facts. Maybe she was too rash sometimes, but she wouldn't tell Rachel she felt bad. That would most definitely make everything between them even more uncomfortable.

"Whatever, the point is that you being here is not allowed. It causes problems for me and my friends." Jinx growled.

Rachel's facial expression did not waver as usual, "Because you haven't caused me any problems, right Iris?"

Jinx's eyes flashed, "One, stop bringing that up you bitch. That night had nothing to do with anything! It was years ago, get over it! And two, do not call me Iris! I don't know how you found out about it, but I don't go by that name anymore!"

"I'll call you what I please Iris." Rachel said in her monotone, but with a little more edge to it, "You were a coward that night. I don't forgive cowards, and certainly ones who are defensive about it."

"I am not a coward. You're just an entitled child who thinks that just because her Dad rules everything, that everyone has to cower before her."

"I do not expect that. I expect nothing from others, but judging by your actions that night you wanted to do something, but were too concerned with your own skin to do anything. Now you are ashamed of yourself and that is why you hate and are always tough around me, to prove that you are not a coward." Rachel said these words so calmly it infuriated Jinx even more.

"You really know how to hold a grudge. You hate me because it's in your nature to hate. You're a heartless shell of a person. How could I except otherwise?" Jinx shot back.

"You shouldn't." Rachel replied, straight faced, "It is pointless to argue with you. All arguing is. I will take my leave."

Jinx looked at her, somewhat shocked by Rachel's response. Apparently she shouldn't expect Rachel to be better than a heartless shell, not many people would say that about themselves.

Rachel began to walk away. Jinx paused for a moment then asked,

"You were with Slade tonight, right?"

Rachel halted and turned, "Yes, we were."

"You know that he's-"

"Our vice principal? Yeah."

"Keep an eye out, I heard him call Richard into his office today. I wouldn't put anything past Mr. Wilson, or Slade, whatever the hell his name is."

Rachel nodded. Jinx could tell she was confused at why all of a sudden Jinx was telling her this, when a moment ago they weren't getting along so well.

"Don't look so confused Raven. That man creeps me out too. I want him gone just as much as any of us."

Rachel turned back as if Jinx hadn't spoken and left.

Jinx put her head to her forehead and muttered something incoherently.

First last night, now tonight. This stupid detention thing would be the death of her.

* * *

So I've actually had this finished for a while. My Dad turned off our wifi and hid the router because everyone was on the internet. Then forgot where he put it… so I couldn't post it until now.

So little Garfield has a wee crush on Rachel. *yaay* Always nice. It seemed kind of rushed but I suppose he had a crush on Terra instantly so it's not too farfetched. It isn't a serious, deep love or anything. Attraction, maybe?

Kori has a record… and a temper. She was always scary when she was mad in the show, and extremely powerful at that.

This is the chapter where you find out a bit more on Vic and why he's different from the others. If you notice, he doesn't let any misfortunes that come his way stop him from living life. The others do if you've noticed.

Richard was a sweet little hero in that office. Didn't take that bribe. Very heroish. I couldn't resist putting that in there. The conversation actually serves a purpose later on, I swear.

Rachel has her own alter ego, I'm sure you all guessed already, but it is confirmed in this chapter that Rachel is the daughter of the terrifying Trigon.

I'm sorry if I made Terra a bit of a brat. I know that a lot of you may not like that I put in the fact that Terra was sleeping with Slade in it. I'm going off of a lot of comic canon, so I don't see how this is any different. Have no fear; she won't be in the story simply for bashing. I don't like bashing, but her and Rachel dislike each other so I couldn't have her being all sweet. Actually I didn't think I'd put her in the story until I was writing this chapter.

Jinx is the only one outside of Rachel's family that knows about Raven's true identity. The reason is not yet revealed, but all in due time.

I hope to get more chapters out soon. Please be patient! I promise the story will be finished by the end of the year!

Completely off topic but I saw 'The Heat' in theaters last night. One of the funniest movies I've ever seen, but there was too much language for my taste. Despite the language I have in this story, I don't really curse. I put it in this story because it can be a way of showing what a character's personality and it has more effect in some scenes. Honestly, I dislike cursing, but for the purpose of the story I put it in.

**I don't have a poll, but do any of you have predictions about the history between Jinx and Rachel. I'm curious to see your guesses.**

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR KIND REVIEWS!

* * *

[m1]Later on add when Kori and Rachel are talking that Rachel would have liked to not grow up as fast as she did.


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